Does Platinum insurance cover illness on ship?

[debintexas]

My mother got very sick and went to the ship's doctor. Since we were in Canada, Medicare won't cover the charges ($1,600). Does anyone know if the insurance will cover? Thanks.

[Toto2Kansas]

Check with Berkley Care if you had Princess insurance. As long as the illness was not a pre-existing condition that she possibly was not covered for, it should. No way to tell you for sure without knowing all the circumstances of the illness and if it was chronic or if she had been treated for this illness before boarding the ship. But only they can tell you for sure.

[familia_solis]

My mother got very sick and went to the ship's doctor. Since we were in Canada, Medicare won't cover the charges ($1,600). Does anyone know if the insurance will cover? Thanks.

 

Hi, I am sorry to hear about your Mom. Which company did she purchase the insurance through? I am asking because I work for a travel insurance company and might be able to provide some info.

[mycruz]

I used the ship's medical facility on my Hawaiian cruise. I submitted to Berkley as a Platinum member was told to file with my company's insurance company first. I would think that if Medicare declined payment then you would need to submit that to Berkely Care for reimbursement. Call Berkley Care, they are your provider and can answer your questions.

[Cruisers from WA]

My husband cut his arm while getting into the water to snorkel in St Vincent and was rushed back to the ship's medical center and was treated and stiched....we had berkley care platinum....had to go to medicare first and get a Written exclusion and then to our regular health insurance coverage with exclusion or what was paid and THEN and ONLY then would berkly care consider his claim, everything had to be in writing......they said they pay only after every other insurance one has, is rejected in writing!....what was really a hassle was we had to send the medicare claim (although we KNEW it would not pay) to FL medicare (we live in WA) as that is where the ship left the US and this was per directions from medicare....problem was they received the claim, started to process it and then LOST IT!.....so I had to make copies all over again and resubmit everything just to get a rejection letter.....came right down to it....berkley care paid NOTHING....our own health care PAID FOR IT!!!:eek:

 

They pay only after all insurances you have are rejected in writing.

[Pam in CA]

My mother got very sick and went to the ship's doctor. Since we were in Canada, Medicare won't cover the charges ($1,600). Does anyone know if the insurance will cover? Thanks.

The answer is, "Yes." However, Princess Platinum insurance is "secondary" insurance which means they will pay only if your regular insurance won't.

 

You should do several things:

 

1. Call Berkley Care and open a claim. They will send you the submission forms to fill out, which you will need to submit the claim.

 

2. Make sure you have a copy of the ship's Medical Center bill and the details of what it covered. You should have that to make a couple of copies. If you have already paid the bill, make copies of your payment to submit along with the claims.

 

3. Submit a claim to BOTH Medicare and your regular medical coverage. If your Mom has Medicare, that would be her "supplemental" insurance. Chances are they (the supplemental) will pay a portion of the onboard medical expense. You can get copies of the submission form from Medicare online and I know you can download the form for Anthem Blue Cross on their website.

 

4. Make a copy of the supplemental insurance payment and submit the claim to Berkley, along with a copy of the bill and the details (Doctors notes, diagnosis, medications, IVs, etc.)

 

You will receive a check for the remainder of the bill from Berkley in a couple of weeks after submitting it. It's a bit of a hassle but worth it.

[Lynda90]

I pulled a muscle in my leg on the ship. I had to go to the ship's doctor and he checked it out, gave me a cane and prescription pain pills. I submitted the bill to my insurance and it was denied. I sent the denial along with documentation to Berkley Care and was reimbursed in full. The entire bill was only $112 which I thought was very reasonable. I was very pleased with the quick response of Berkley. :p

[caribill]

we had berkley care platinum....had to go to medicare first and get a Written exclusion and then to our regular health insurance coverage with exclusion or what was paid and THEN and ONLY then would berkly care consider his claim, everything had to be in writing......they said they pay only after every other insurance one has, is rejected in writing!....what was really a hassle was we had to send the medicare claim (although we KNEW it would not pay) to FL medicare (we live in WA) as that is where the ship left the US and this was per directions from medicare.....

 

And for those who wonder why USA medical costs are so high:

 

o Cost to secondary insurance company making sure that Medicare will not pay all or part of a bill that everyobdy knows will not be covered according to Medicare laws.

 

o Cost to Medicare for processing the claim that everyone knows will not be covered due to it occuring outside the USA.

[debintexas]

Thanks to everyone for the advice! We'll file with Medicare although they'll deny as it was in Canada, then with the supplement and then with Barclay's.

 

The care on the ship was excellent and we went back 3 times--they didn't even charge for the 2nd or 3rd return and the doctor did an EKG on the 3rd return!

[Colo Cruiser]

They do have great service. :)

[WeBeGone]

My husband cut his arm while getting into the water to snorkel in St Vincent and was rushed back to the ship's medical center and was treated and stiched....we had berkley care platinum....had to go to medicare first and get a Written exclusion and then to our regular health insurance coverage with exclusion or what was paid and THEN and ONLY then would berkly care consider his claim, everything had to be in writing......they said they pay only after every other insurance one has, is rejected in writing!....what was really a hassle was we had to send the medicare claim (although we KNEW it would not pay) to FL medicare (we live in WA) as that is where the ship left the US and this was per directions from medicare....problem was they received the claim, started to process it and then LOST IT!.....so I had to make copies all over again and resubmit everything just to get a rejection letter.....came right down to it....berkley care paid NOTHING....our own health care PAID FOR IT!!!:eek:

 

They pay only after all insurances you have are rejected in writing.

 

Whomever sold you the insurance should have explained that it is secondary insurance. You can't get paid twice.

[Pam in CA]

Whomever sold you the insurance should have explained that it is secondary insurance. You can't get paid twice.

They don't explain that when you purchase Peincess insurance. It's in the fine print but just like the Passage Contract, most people don't read that. Speaking personally and even as a somewhat savvy traveler, when you are in a stressful situation and having to deal with insurance, you're not thinking straight and have difficulty understanding exactly what this means. Until then, perhaps you're like me and yawn when someone mentions insurance.

[Toto2Kansas]

The one thing I have been told from some of those with cruise insurance is the misconception that if passengers purchased the insurance, their bills are immediately covered onboard. When I explained to them they would need to pay for medical services and then submit their claim after returning home, they were horrified. They didn't even realize that they would have to pay for the medical care and wait to be reimbursed after submitting the claim.

And then there are those that figure that Medicare will foot the bill for medical services onboard....which of course is not the case.

 

And we have found there are very few private insurance policys that cover you while onboard a ship. Yes, there are some, but most do not.

[Pam in CA]

There's also misinformation given by Princess. We were told that my BIL's bill would be sent directly to Berkley. That was as we were leaving the Medical Center and the Princess port rep was assisting us off the ship. She said, "Don't worry. The bill will be sent directly to Berkley. They have all of your insurance information."

[Colo Cruiser]

Whomever sold you the insurance should have explained that it is secondary insurance. You can't get paid twice.

 

 

Platinum is Princess ins.

They don't explain the ins to anyone.

All the rules are supplied by Princess when purchased. ;)