<p>Our family is traveling to Spain for a few weeks. Our health insurance is good for H and myself. It is our D’s marginal insurance she gets through her school that we want to supplement. The are many inexpensive options to be found but I wanted to ask here first.
Does anyone know of or has used a plan? This mainly ER type coverage. The costs on the plans I have checked are under $50. D is 29 and a med student.
Thanks!</p>
<p>When we have had expensive travel, we’ve purchased travel insurance through [Travel</a> Insurance: TravelSafe - Medical/Health - Vacation Protection Plans](<a href=“http://www.travelsafe.com/]Travel”>http://www.travelsafe.com/) I like the “cancel for any reason” option because, well, life happens. I can’t remember if the health benefits were primary or secondary, but that may vary by specific plan. We never have purchased only the medical part, but I do know that those policies exist.</p>
<p>Last summer when Happykid and pals were travelling, they also had a certain amount of coverage that came with their ISIC cards [»</a> ISIC](<a href=“http://www.isic.org/]»”>http://www.isic.org/) Again, I can’t remember if it was primary or secondary. If you read through the information on that policy, it might be enough of an add-on to benefit your student and make the ISIC card worth getting.</p>
<p>None of us have ever had to use medical services while travelling, so I can’t speak to whether or not either of these companies are any use in a medical emergency. </p>
<p>Hope you have a great trip!</p>
<p>We got travel insurance thru InsureMy Trip. We didn’t need the health insurance, but I think that was a benefit. It also pays if you need to be flown home for medical care too, although that is unlikely as you are going to be in a western country</p>
<p>Trip insurance isn’t just trip-cancellation insurance. Be very sure you really understand exactly what your regular medical insurance will cover overseas. What ours covers (and I think this is typical): emergency transport to the nearest medically suitable facility, and treatment deemed necessary by the doctors on site. Please note that “medically suitable” and “treatment deemed necessary” are determined by the insurance company – NOT the insured.</p>
<p>What ours did NOT cover: transport in-country to a facility preferred by the insured, treatments not deemed essential by in-country medical staff, medical transport back home, travel costs if family members want to be with the sick/injured person, and repatriation of remains. </p>
<p>When D did her study abroad, I did the usual cost-benefit analysis. Worst case, she gets a serious injury or illness which requires a long-ish hospitalization. I would definitely want to fly to be with her, and to be her medical advocate. My regular insurance would not pay for that. As soon as she was able, I would want her flown home, by medical transport if necessary, to our home hospital and her own doctors. My insurance wouldn’t pay for that. And if God forbid, the worst happened, my regular insurance wouldn’t pay to bring her home. So potential cost = hundreds of thousands of dollars, all of it non-reimbursable by my expensive regular insurance.</p>
<p>Cost of buying medical trip insurance which covers all of those things = cheap. It wasn’t a hard decision.</p>
<p>DH and I traveled extensively throughout the world in our mid-late twenties - we’d be gone for three, six or more months… once fourteen months. Never once did it occur to us (ah, youth) to have health insurance. We needed medical treatment three times during those travels… it was offered free of charge in each place, with the local doctor/clinic much surprised that we expected to pay. </p>
<p>(I’m not advocating this, by the way. It’s just that often, when traveling abroad, payment for medical care isn’t an issue.)</p>
<p>By the way, last fall, My MIL broke her leg on her second day in Paris. She was hospitalized for three days, then outfitted with state of the art crutches and taken by a hospital car to her hotel. Didn’t cost her a dime 
Apparently, the French doctors really enjoyed acting “superior” (tongue-firmly-in-cheek) knowing THEIR health system is so much better than ours. I think it sort of made their day.</p>
<p>Thanks! we just purchased travel health insurance for D through Medex and paid $33. Worth the peace of mind.
Interesting–GF who is from Madrid told us to always use the state run centers–the best doctors work there.</p>
<p>SOS traveler’s insurance is a good one. Especially important if you are injured and need to return to the U.S. with medical assistance.</p>
<p>Glad you are sorted out, oregon101. </p>
<p>What LasMas and Karen Colleges said is relevant. If there is need for medical transport or air ambulance home, you want to be covered. Some insurance also covers transport back and forth for a family member in case of emergency (though not relevant to this situation, it can be important). I am sure that there are very specific requirements to be met for air ambulance, but we at least wanted to have some coverage for medical transport, including to another nearby country with better medical care options if indicated. It seems that many people overlook this or assume that the insurance provided by the program is adequate. I would double check it all and see if a supplement is indicated when you have a student studying, interning or doing other sponsored programs abroad that offer insurance.</p>