Gmtplus- I’m not expecting her to be able to swipe her insurance card anywhere. Heck she is used to having a big h deductible health plan in the U.S. She isn’t expecting any co-pay. The coverage she wants is the type she hopefully will not need She isn’t concerned about minor illness.What I want to avoid is her having a huge bill for an airlift if she gets hurt. I would also prefer if she needed to have any surgery done that she end up at a hospital in Los Angeles versus a hospital in Buenos Aires or Santiago. I’m sure both those places have excellent facilities but I’d prefer her back Close to home.
I agree that it is important for you to be SURE you get the coverage you are envisioning. I believe MedJet Assist has a policy where they will airlift the insured to the hospital the insured specifies (including in the US), via private jet and with private nurse as needed. There are likely others as well.
Himom- You are correct MedJetAssist does offer such a policy.
By the way, if you are an AARP member when purchasing MedJet Assist, there is a nice discount, which is more than the AARP membership, iirc.
Many hospitals outside of the States will not provide any medical care until there is proof of payment. In my friend’s case, she maxed out her credit cards for her husband to get the hip surgery.
That’s another clause to read carefully in the policy. Does the company act as guarantor so you can get medical care abroad? Will it provide a cash deposit to a foreign hospital if required for admission? Even if you are ultimately airlifted out, you most likely will have to receive emergency or stabilizing treatment wherever you are first.
It’s been a few years since I had MedJetAssist but I’m pretty sure it had all these angles covered.
Yes, a friend whose mom fractured her leg badly at Las Vegas had to have the D pay all air ambulance costs up front via charge card. It was VERY expensive (about $40K) because she needed a nurse and extra seats–not sure if it was also private jet. The friend put it all on her charge card, iirc