Does your health insurance cover you when you leave the country? A survey commissioned by the US Travel Insurance Association suggests you aren’t.
Traditional domestic health insurance plans typically limit coverage for out-of-country medical expenses to emergency-related costs, it found. They also have high deductibles and co-pays for emergency treatment abroad and don’t cover emergency transportation in cases of life threatening illness where medical evacuation may be required.
Half of Medicare recipients may not be covered abroad, the study also revealed. And, when covered, benefits are normally limited to 80 percent of emergency treatment costs, with a $250 deductible.
Now, setting aside for a moment the self-serving nature and questionable methodology of USTIA’s survey (we don’t know how many people were surveyed or what was asked of them) it can be said that the group makes a terrific point. You probably aren’t covered by your health insurance when you leave the country.
“Travelers whose main concern is the unforeseen possibility of a health emergency while overseas should consider medical travel or other types of travel insurance,” says USTIA president Mike Ambrose.
That’s one solution. The other is that the folks in Washington who are discussing health care reform really ought to consider including language that would compel insurance companies to cover us wherever we are. We have only a vague idea of what kind of health care reform will be imposed on us. The bills under consideration make no mention of overseas coverage.
That’s no good.
Shouldn’t our health insurance cover us, no matter where we go? And not just for half the amount with a high deductible, but just like it does back home in the States?
(Photo: Funky64/Flickr Creative Commons)
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{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
Well I do not want to get ino this debate on this forum; however if whatever passes will increase taxes for those insuredwho even under their own health insurance pay hefy premiuns even when their emplyer pays as much as seventy- five percent; and to those self – emplyed a great deal more; it would be unfair to the taxpayer to be budened with any more taxes; I feel so sorry for the people of the UK who if Ineed assistance in their country to be burdened with my expenses.
@ barbie45: The people in the UK won’t pay for medical assistance to you. You enter the EU on the condition that you have valid health insurance. Or at least the Schengen zone (which the UK is not a part of, but I am sure they have a similar arrangement). To Americans, this may be invisible because you don’t need a visa to get in. But the condition is there.
You see, in Europe everybody just has health insurance. So they expect their visitors to have it too. It is such a basic conditions they don’t even think about it.
thanks so glad they do not have to take care of foreigners.
What about workmen’s compensation insurance? Are those traveling on business covered by their employers?
@ barbie45: Oh nice and snipey. But they do take care of foreigners. They can’t refuse help. Wouldn’t even think of it. Foreigners just need to pay for the bill, just like in the US.
The fact that *everybody* gets health insurance in Europe does not mean that payments come out of the sky. People pay dearly for the services. Mostly through their taxes, which are considerably higher that in the US. In some countries, people also need to buy private insurance on top of that.
The difference with the US is that nobody can be refused insurance or treatment.
I find it rather odd that you assume that a foreigners should get free help. Can you name any country that provides truly free medical care to foreigners?
We advise all of our clients traveling outside of the USA to purchase travel insurance simply because many health insurance policies either do cover or have provisions that will cost you additional money for medical treatment. Travel insurance is used for 2 reasons which allows you to recover your cost if you are unable to travel or to cover medical expenses while outside the USA. I have sold travel insurance with -0- coverage for trip cost but the client has full health insurance coverage up to the limits of the policy.
Jasper i was not being snippy at all; i admire the British very much and have traveled exensively in the UK; I mean knowing how high their taxes are for national health and the need for supplemental insurance. Iam glad; Considering the horror stories I read daily inthe Guardian and Mailunder Labour; I am terrified that the USA IS ON THE WAY THERE TO.
Given the debate here, I noted this article from TravelAgentCentral.com with interest. It’s about the growth of medical tourism. It notes in part:
“According to members of the Joint Commission International (the primary hospital accreditation organization internationally), more than 750,000 Americans sought treatment outside the U.S. in 2007 and that number is projected to grow to 6 million by next year.”
http://www.travelagentcentral.com/medical-travel/growing-world-travel-rx Chris, there’s also some data in the article about the possibility of insurance companies outsourcing to parts of the world where treatments are less expensive. We may get global health coverage in the end, but it sounds more like that decision will be an economic one made by the providers, rather than a mandate from Washington.
I am very fortunate to have my medical coverage through a HealthPartners (Minnesota) plan that treats any services received in another country just like it would a local out of network provider – meaning they’d pay 50-80% of the bill. Still, I always purchase a travel insurance plan to cover the rest because 20% of a $20K hospital bill is still a lot of money. I’m always baffled by people who skip travel medical insurance. You’re already paying hundreds, if not thousands, for your overseas vacation – what’s another $50?
I always buy travel insurance because at this point, I’m not real sure whether my medical insurance covers me out of the country. As of January 1, I KNOW it does. I will continue to buy travel insurance, though.
I believe adding travelers insurance would only complicate the equation and since not all of us travel abroad it will be an added burden for those who don’t in terms of higher taxes. I don’t see helath insurance for travelers as an urgent need as having health insurance at home. Those who do travel should definitely look into their options of buying a policy that will cover them through the region they mostly visit.