Any experiences to share with becoming ill while overseas in terms of how it was paid for?
A friend’s daughter broke her ankle in NZ, had surgery and they never heard a word again about it. They paid nada, if I remember correctly. I am pretty sure daughter did not have to hand over any money at the time.
We’ve had it happen a few times in South America. Paid cash to doctors who came to the hotel. Much more reasonable than in the USA.
We have had it happen too, in Copenhagen D19 had a skin staph infection. Process was relatively easy as we were staying with family friends…visited their physician neighbor who only works from home remotely treating patients…she wrote an RX. Family friend took us to pharmacy to fill rx, no cost…rx was for…penicillin. The good news is it worked well on the infection, but I can’t remember the last time anyone I know received penicillin in the states.
Don’t know how such things are handled in NZ. Did have a similar mishap in Spain with foot surgery and a 4 night stay in a medical clinic for recovery prior to flight home. Checked into clinic after business office hours on a Friday with no idea of cost until Monday; nonetheless signed a financial responsibility form to allow for surgery and was expected to pay in full before discharge. Travel insurance and our regular medical insurance reimbursed us later for the amount we paid at discharge. Payment procedures vary by country and facility.
This highlighted the vulnerability of anyone traveling abroad who may not have access to credit cards with higher limits. College students and young adults with limited savings should review their insurance policies and consider travel insurance. Beyond the immediate hospitalization, business class return tickets were required for patient (medical need to elevate) and for spouse who was required for ambulation assistance during long flight. Very costly at the last minute.
Hope all is well with your friend’s daughter.
DH got sick in Istanbul, same as above. Doc came to the hotel, we paid him a reasonable fee.
When I travel, Ioften get travel insurance, not expensive. My concern isn’t a cash payment to a doc, but if I did need hospitalization or the flight home.
Co-worker went to resort in the Dominican Republic, son had stomach pain for 2 days and went to resort medical staff. Had to pre-pay $100 US for the exam. Was told had appendicitis and needed emergency surgery. Was going to pre-pay $10,000 US.
He decided to call his family doctor back in US.
Long story short, $20 bottle of Pepto Bismol cured the kid.
Would have undergone unnecessary surgery in 3rd World Country
I had to see a doc in Africa and he came to the camp. Think that was $35. When I had to see a doc while sailing near Bora Bora I had to walk to the clinic; think that one was $50. Very reasonable, good people.
I had a severe kidney infection in a very poor part of Costa Rica about 9 years ago. I had phenomenal treatment even in this rain forest clinic in the middle of nowhere. If there was a cost, it was minimal and I was able to pay with cash I had on me.
I’ve had more minor illnesses in the UK and Canada and had to pay nothing or close to nothing.
When I was in Australia last year, I had to pick up a medicine that I self inject with. Here it costs thousands of dollars (my insurance covers it all luckily) there it was about $50 if I had no coverage as a foreigner. My insurance still covered it though.
OK. I messed up
Try this one… https://www.socialpsychology.org/gunder.htm
I had excellent treatment in Singapore when I had a terrible migraine and had to go to the hospital for IV fluids and medicine. I paid about $100 dollars for the ER visit and the medicine and when I returned home I got reimbursed through my medical FSA account.
It’s a risk. Something to research. A friend did get an emergency appendectomy in Russia. Two friends air evacuated to US at great expense. My very close friend flew to China when her daughter got very ill—walking pneumonia it turned out to be. Huge expense, loss of a semester , but the young woman did return to US on regular flight
S2 got severe bronchitis that was turning to pneumonia while in Ukraine doing election monitoring. Spent four days in the hospital; the staff fawned over him because he could speak the language. This was in a small regional city in a rural area where Americans generally don’t go. Food was horrible --he sent me pics. I couldn’t identify it. His colleagues brought him McD’s every morning thinking it was comfort food. 
His total cost was $100. They let him out during the day to do his work and stayed overnight at the hospital. S2 said the IV antibiotics were administered in glass bottles and that the hospital was very…Soviet. He followed expat advice to buy his own meds and needles. He called his primary doc here in the US and the doc asked if they had run X, Y and Z tests. The Ukrainian docs already had done everything the primary recommended and have give S2 a copy of the results. No complaints about the quality of care.
In the large Eastern European city where he lives, there are clinics focused on the expat community that are more American-like (and a bit more expensive, though not terribly so) and have English-speaking docs. S2 said had he been there when he got sick, he probably would have been prescribed antibiotics and sent home, but since he was on a remote NGO assignment, the supervisors erred on the side of caution.
My daughter was in a mountain region back packing through Vietnam. She got sick like food poisoning or flu like. She found a cheap arbnb and slept for like two days. The people that were part of the house (rented a room), were aware she was sick and looked after her… We were in contact a few times a day.
. When she was in Indonesia a few weeks prior she got some rash on her back. We sent her with cortisone and topical antifungals. She never used them. I forgot what they are called but they are like healing doctors that she went to. She wanted to try them out. . He did some chanting, poked her with a stick. Told her it was like some aggravation coming out, to clear her head and it will be gone in a day or so… It was and cleared up like the next day… Lol ?.
TRAVELEX.
Have used it for medical while traveling twice, both times fully covered, no out of pocket. One was (we thought) appendicitis and even though it wasn’t, both doc visit and surgical consult were covered. Then an infection post-wisdom tooth extraction, dentist and prescription fully covered.
I will not use any other travel insurance.
The price depends on cost of your trip (as it covers delay, cancellation etc also), but the med benefits are there no matter what. Mine is usually around $100 for a trip of a week to 6 months. I usually get Basic, not Select, but YMMV. If you buy it soon after you book, pre-existing conditions are covered.
Check your insurance. My BCNS insurance covers “US reasonable & customary” charges pretty much everywhere.
When we were young adults touring Taiwan in a student exchange program, one girl got sick and got an IV. I don’t believe she and her family were ever charged.
I’ve never needed care outside the US to date. All our medical bills for care in the US have always been covered—when in network, of course our copay is minimal. Most providers have been in network.
Regular Medicare doesn’t cover medical care outside the US, i believe.
I’d seriously look at travel insurance, especially trip evacuation. We charge our package tours on Chase Sapphire for the points and the travel insurance.
My D got very sick (mono) while studying abroad in Eastern Europe. I don’t recall what the medical insurance was, but it was required by the study abroad program. We had to pay up front on our credit card and were reimbursed 100% after submitting receipts. It was about $900 in medical bills all together including several doctor visits, a specialist, an ultrasound and a bunch of lab tests and some medications. . It might just depend on the country and also what your own medical insurance covers but we were glad for the insurance. We had a $6000 deductible on our US policy at the time and even more for out of network.
Another thing to check is credit card benefits. I was just reviewing all our card benefits, mostly to see which offer the most reward points) and two of them cover travel emergencies for travel booked on that card.
Reading the above stories with medical bills in other countries that are in the hundreds of dollars makes me wonder what they would be in the US (before insurance coverage) for similar services. Tens of thousands of dollars?
Often UHC countries are incompetent when it comes to this part. Are you asking should the family follow up? Sure, call the hospital in NZ. It is a big complaint from tax payers in the UK, Australia, I am sure NZ too. Paying nada makes visitors feel they have got something for nothing, I doubt many users follow up with payment. There just aren’t billing staff as first point of triage in such places. The irony will be is that the actual cost would be low compared to insured billed costs here. Unless the cost was covered by travel insurance, but it still would have involved paperwork.
We have all gotten sick one time or another while traveling and my insurance(s) have paid for the costs. The also treated those claims as in-network. I usually just called them and let them know that medical care was needed, and as soon as I came home I filed the claims.
Few years ago D2 got very bad food poisoning when we were in Thailand. She ended up going to an American hospital. The cost was not cheap, but our insurance paid for it (I paid for it first and they reimbursed me when I came home).
I never needed additional traveler’s insurance to get the claims paid. My regular medical insurance was sufficient.
My AmEx would pay for any medical evacuation.
My daughter had a GI issue while studying in France. I think we paid about $250. Her study abroad program covered repatriation, so if she had needed to come home, it would have been covered.