<p>Just purchased D’s plane ticket for China–she has a six-week internship in China, and I am wondering what to do about health insurance. I know I want some kind of gap insurance to cover amedical emergency, and I also know I need to call Blue Cross tomorrow to see what they would cover, but I am wondering what you other parents whose college students have spend time abroad have done. I did a quick search on insuremytrip, and got policies ranging from $60 to $600. Any advice?</p>
<p>Hopefully,she will be near a big city with good hospitals . It will be very HOT there ! I spend a month travelling around China ,but I was lucky and never needed it . I also had evacuation coverage , which is a must ,unless you are in a good hospital . The levels of care change a lot depending where you are . Good luck .</p>
<p>We used this company when my daughter lived in China for a year. [HTH</a> Students: International Student Health Insurance - Student Insurance - Global Medical Assistance Services](<a href=“Hthstudents.com”>http://www.hthstudents.com/) I believe they have different time limits and coverages. Agree about evacuation insurance.</p>
<p>Is the internship through the school? If yes, they may have “emergency” evacuation insurance. For instance Harvard has International SOS. Check with your school. As to health insurance, check with your student’s group health carrier and see if you can get a letter which certifies international coverage. Also get International claim form – just in case. And American Express also has good travel services, can you get your daughter an Amex card?</p>
<p>My girls got travel insurance policies that provided healthcare coverage.</p>
<p>We have doen the following:
-Called both Med. Insurances that D. has thru our employers and they have explained procedure
-Bought special “Travel” insurance in case Air lift is needed
-We believe that in addition, schools might have some insurance for this trip
-D. is going with the group that has good number of MD’s. She will be priamrily used as a transator for MDs in couple of clinics. We hope that MDs around her would be good first aid.</p>
<p>Just to emphasize evacuation coverage is a must. Whenever we travel, we always buy it, even in developed countries.</p>
<p>If it is any sort of humanitarian-like activity, we use: [Volunteer</a> Travel Insurance](<a href=“http://www.volunteercard.com/insurance/]Volunteer”>http://www.volunteercard.com/insurance/) </p>
<p>Set you back $45 for six months. Includes evacuation, lost luggage, rescheduled flights, health, stolen cameras, etc., etc.</p>
<p>Where is she interning? that will make a difference.</p>
<p>If she is going to major cities, there will be some thing bc/bs will accept. But if she is going to a remote area, I suggest to make sure the bc/bs put in writing that they will cover those medical establishments there.</p>
<p>Since you have BCBS, they have a list with doctors of different specialties all over the world that they recommend but you can use any service. The medical services providers on the list speak English and have usually studied in the USA. You will have to pay for the visit and lab tests and you need to get a receipt and file the claim in the USA to get the reimbursement. Most BCBS plans also cover international medical evacuation. We have used BCBS in our family, through different employers over the years, and had to do medical visits in four different countries in Europe, all the way to remote areas in third world countries in Africa. The services included from specific lab tests to have been done while we were traveling, to emergency pediatric services. Their philosophy is if it is a serious medical service like a surgery, they want you to stabilize and come back to the USA for treatment asap. </p>
<p>[Manage</a> Healthcare Coverage for Travelers and Students | BCBS.com](<a href=“http://www.bcbs.com/already-a-member/coverage-home-and-away.html]Manage”>Member Services | Blue Cross Blue Shield)</p>
<p><a href=“https://international.allianzassistance.com/bcbsa/index.asp?page=login[/url]”>https://international.allianzassistance.com/bcbsa/index.asp?page=login</a></p>
<p>If it is a program though the school, they usually have contracts with security companies to evacuate their students if there are natural disasters, terrorist attacks, etc.</p>
<p>Ana, what Blue Cross told me was they would cover emergency medical care anywhere in the world, and evacuation to the nearest medically suitable facility. I was told they do NOT cover medevac back to the US unless it’s medically necessary. And knowing Blue Cross, I wouldn’t have a lot of faith in their definition of “medically suitable” and “medically necessary.” </p>
<p>MathildaMae, medevac can run into the tens of thousands, or more. IMO travel insurance is very cheap for the peace of mind it buys. You can get a bare-bones policy; just make sure it has evacuation/repatriation. Many people use insuremytrip.com.</p>
<p>It depends on the BCBS plan that’s why I suggested that she contacts the specific plan administrator because everything depends on what the employer/insurance provider offers. BCBS is just a plan administrator that offers the benefits chosen to be purchased and each offering differs based on employer choice, not just which tier the employee uses. If the employer has employees that have to travel for various reasons, they offer a different package than let’s say the state of FL that only has local employees, but both use BCBS to administer their plans. Frequently, even the BCBS plans offered in a university differ for faculty/staff/student. The standard BCBS insurance plan people have in the USA only covers visits if they are for emergency/or have to be done at a specific timeline when the insured travels. If you plan to move permanently overseas, you will have to switch to their international plan. Obviously they have medvac in medical emergencies, it is not an umbrella evacuation plan. Thats why it is good to check with the college to see if they have contracts with companies to offer evacuation services. If you have seen during the Haiti earthquake, when the US military seized the Haitian airport, until the US citizens got evacuated, contractors for security companies contracted by the schools were the only ones getting in and actively trying to find the students. But one should really have the names of the BCBS recommended facilities for the area they plan to go as they are usually good quality and are familiar with USA codes and treatments and can serve as a starting point, than trying to find someone through last minute referals.</p>
<p>Insurance or not, try very hard not to get sick in China. And if it happened, try to get out ASAP.</p>