H and I have not gotten supplemental medical insurance yet for any of our trips abroad. We talked about it after our trip last year to Portugal and the UK and for future trips we will start getting a supplement to cover us outside the US.
I had to go to the hospital in Singapore 7 years ago while on a trip. I had excellent care at their university hospital and the cost was about $100 which was reimbursed from my FSA when we came home.
We returned from a trip to Bermuda last Monday night. D2 and a friend were with us on the trip and D2 was sick the day after we arrived. She has been struggling with cyclical vomiting (here at home) that seems to be related to certain foods especially onions. She has gone to emergency here at home to get IV’s when she becomes too dehydrated. She spent a day in bed on the Bermuda trip and we almost thought we would have to take her to the hospital for an IV, but she improved enough later in the day and did not need to go.
She has appointments coming up for both allergy testing and with a gastro so hopefully she will get to the bottom of this soon. I told her that she will need to get supplemental insurance next year when she plans to go to Europe with a friend.
Your daughter could check her medical benefits, in case she already has international coverage.
When I was working, I my employer group insurance covered non-US medical expenses. Looking at my Aetna retiree benefits detail (same plan), non-US charges can get reimbursed
I called Aetna to 800# and confirmed same, covered at “preferred rate”…… pay and then submit bills.
Now for husband, I have seen comments online that his supplemental plan (AARP UHC PlanG)may have a $50k lifetime international coverage. Have not called to verify.
We are still considering GeoBlue in order to get Primary coverage and their assistance in the slim chance that we have issues on our London trip. But a bit part of that is based on stories from friends trying to get home after travel injuries (stepping off the curb wrong etc).
Our hope is that “Evacuation” coverage get you back home (ie not just for scenerios like getting off the mountain top and into the nearest modern hospital). I’ll probably call GeoBlue and/or Allianz later.
GeoBlue FYI - When digging down into enrollment process, there is a question/dropdown to define primary coverage. I thought that would mean my husband(Medicare) and I (Aetna) would need to apply separately. But per call to 800#, we could do just answer for him. (There are prior steps that list both of our ages.)
I still remember my father telling me to never not have health insurance, even if it meant living out of my car. I’ve given the same advice to my kids.
Original Medicare with Medigap G covers 80% of emergency medical but I don’t see the emergency evacuation listed. I bought my son the GeoBlue for his trip to Germany (on the plane now!) which pays medical directly to In-Network medical facilities and their app lists them so you can find the closest (not a reimbursement plan) plus it covers medical evacuation - I think I’ll add this to my my Medicare coverage.
This, like everything else about Medicare, is state specific. I attended a talk about Medicare in MA and the only way to get true non-US medical insurance was through a special plan (like GeoBlue).
I had a friend a few months ago suffer a serious accident on a trip to Greece. She ended up having surgery and spending a week in the hospital there. She was treated very well and swears it was because they knew she had a travel medical insurance plan (she was on a tour where they had encouraged all participants to get this plan).
Based upon her experience, nobody in my family is traveling abroad without it. I just priced out a plan for my upcoming one week European trip - for me it is like $50 for my daughter only $20. Well worth it.
Yes, the GeoBlue for my son was pretty inexpensive with good coverage without it being “reimbursement” coverage. I would probably get that as well because it also included the medical evacuation. However, original Medicare w/ most Medigap supplements do cover 80% emergency care outside of U.S.
I do like the convenience factor (vs doing self-pay and getting reimbursed)
from GeoBlue *website. * GeoBlue Voyager plans are secondary insurance. However, GeoBlue will process and pay claims upfront as a primary payor and reserves the right, where applicable, to contact your primary insurance company to coordinate benefits.
The Geo Blue quote page has this note Cover my pre-existing conditions Requires an existing domestic health insurance plan
if you don’t click this you don’t need an existing health plan and you get a cheaper premium.
The Voyager Plan also has “in-network” medical facilities that you can go to and they just pay up front as primary, no reimbursement on your part required if you go to the in-network medical facilities. You get an app for your phone and just look up the closest facility…this was for medical and medical evacuation only, no trip insurance coverage.
Thanks OP for this thread. I am following with interest.
Though I usually get trip insurance to cover hotels, tours, medical (with evacuation and repatriation), I anticipate a future trip to visit family overseas so won’t need the hotel/tour coverage. It’s good to know there are options for medical only.
We purchased GeoBlue (one trip) coverage. It was $198 total (2 retirees)… it would be less for younger travelers. You can get cheaper with adjusting coverage level, deductible etc… we just ran out of time to research and ponder more. Odds of needing it are slim. We just wanted the peace of mind.
When we went to Mexico, our AAA agent insisted we have insurance with medical/evac coverage (we used Allianz then). Not sure it it was her rule or AAA’s rule.
We wanted medical coverage for the extension of our trip next year. We bought the Globus travel insurance for the New Zealand portion but needed something for our Sydney extension. I’m a USAA member through my father’s service. They have a Travel Care Protector Plan which cost us $68.90 for the two of us for five days. It’s good for travel originating or ending at our home address so we qualified. It covers:
Trip Interruption up to a maximum of $5,000
Trip Delay up to a maximum of $200/day to a maximum of $1,000 (6
hours)
Baggage & Personal Effects up to a maximum of $1,000
Baggage Delay up to a maximum of $300 (12 hours)
Political/Security Evac & Natural Disaster Evac up to a maximum of $150,000
Accident & Sickness Medical Expense up to a maximum of $50,000
Air Flight Only AD&D up to a maximum of $50,000
Emergency Medical Evacuation & Repatriation up to a maximum of $1,000,000
I thought that was a pretty good deal. So if anyone is a USAA member, that’s an option. In the past, I’ve used my membership for a few cruises, and an AmEx card.
