** $1,500 Deposit for Hospital Visit??? **

[maggieworkman]

Thanks Ken for explaining everything and even looking stuff up. You are really helping to educate all of us!

 

Maggie

[nanuak]

Today we are a year out from sailing, and I have never purchased travel insurance; but after reading this, I'm really having second thoughts.

Since 2002, we have travelled out of the county every year, with no problem, but I gather we have been rather lucky.

Thanks for opening my eyes :)

 

****Ken, I booked using my AMEX gold card... what do you think about their insurance??? I see them on insuremytrip as an option****

[mcnealz]

What??? So only rich people should cruise? I beg to differ!!

 

I've been poor before and I can tell you that people who live from paycheck to paycheck usually know how to have a lot of fun without spending a lot of money. Sure, emergencies happen and you are seldom prepared to pay for them when you are broke, but they happen at home too.

 

Don't be dissing people who live paycheck to paycheck!

 

I agree !!!!

[bike1964]

Sounds like some of these "foreign" countries need to be a little more "flexible" with people who have trip insurance/medical coverage back in the states. After all, why bite the hand that is feeding them. (especially a country like Mexico where hundreds of thousands of dollars in tourisim get pumped into that country every year.) Why bother with trip insurance if you are going to have to put 5 or 10 grand up front o a CC anyway? My medical insurance covers me in a foreign country as far as reimbursement. "Paranoia may destroy ya"!!!

[amusea]

Another item to consider in deciding on a policy is the emergency evacuation which can be very expensive. Some policies only air lift you to the nearest facility whereas others will pay to any hospital of your choice in any country. Obviously that kind of coverage can be more expensive. My last trip to Southeast Asia required travel insurance that cost me almost one thousand dollars. Age and length of trip can make raise the cost of insurance considerably.

 

A friend of mine dislocated his shoulder from a fall while sightseeing in Canada. He was taken to a hospital and the medical care was excellent. When the procedure was complete the surgeon asked if he had a credit card and then put him in a wheelchair and wheeled him to an ATM within the hospital!!

 

My hospital stay in Norway several years ago was revolutionary. All they asked for was my name and address. No forms to fill out and no payment when I was admitted or released two days later. That was the true honor system. I tried to call CSA on their international toll free number but it would not work so the hospital let me use their computer to e-mail CSA. I am traveling to Norway again this year:D. A wonderful country with wonderful people.

[klmorg]

Why bother with trip insurance if you are going to have to put 5 or 10 grand up front o a CC anyway?

 

Because at least you will be reimbursed for your expenses (medical & everything else associated with trip interruption) between travel insurance & regular health insurance coverage. Otherwise, you are out that chunk of money.

[nbsjcruiser]

With this coverage, the Insurance PAYS the Hospital the required admission advance upfront. ken

 

We just went through this in Nassau. We have insurance that covers medical up front. 5 million dollars worth. All you have to do is call a 1-800 number and they will pay the hospital. When we arrived at the hospital they did not care they do not accept out side insurance.

 

They have been stiffed to many times. i can only tell you from my own experiences and i hope it will help someone to be prepared. i hope that yours will cover you up front and you do not have any surprises at the worst time.

[Ken076]

We just went through this in Nassau. We have insurance that covers medical up front. 5 million dollars worth. All you have to do is call a 1-800 number and they will pay the hospital. When we arrived at the hospital they did not care they do not accept out side insurance.

 

They have been stiffed to many times. i can only tell you from my own experiences and i hope it will help someone to be prepared. i hope that yours will cover you up front and you do not have any surprises at the worst time.

 

Out of curiosity, which Insurer/Policy did you have?

 

Most of the Policies with a so-called "Hospital Guarantee" will pay a limited amount, usually max of $5000 or so of the total Medical benefit of the policy, paid upfront via money transfer or credit card to the Hospital, to get you into the facility and initially treated. There's no billing and no stiffing involved. If you had a true "Hospital Guarantee" there should not have been a problem.

 

ken

 

ken

[nbsjcruiser]

Out of curiosity, which Insurer/Policy did you have?

 

Most of the Policies with a so-called "Hospital Guarantee" will pay a limited amount, usually max of $5000 or so of the total Medical benefit of the policy, paid upfront via money transfer or credit card to the Hospital, to get you into the facility and initially treated. There's no billing and no stiffing involved. If you had a true "Hospital Guarantee" there should not have been a problem.

 

ken

 

ken

 

We have Blue Cross. Not a fly by night company. We had no problem because we travel with a high limit CC for emergency's. If you would like to call the hospital in Nassau and ask if they will take your insurance up front I can supply you with the phone number. The ambulance will not take you unless they are paid up front. That was $300 and Carnival bills your sail and sign before you leave the ship. That was $318 and the hospital wanted the CC before they treat you. They will take a charge of $1500 before they start.

 

I have lived this first hand and the last thing you are going to do is run around to get money wired to you. All you will care about is your loved one getting the help they need. I am not telling you how to travel but only trying to help give people a heads up on how it works and our experience.

 

Have you ever had to get medical attention while traveling and gone through this?

[Ken076]

We have Blue Cross. Not a fly by night company. We had no problem because we travel with a high limit CC for emergency's. If you would like to call the hospital in Nassau and ask if they will take your insurance up front I can supply you with the phone number. The ambulance will not take you unless they are paid up front. That was $300 and Carnival bills your sail and sign before you leave the ship. That was $318 and the hospital wanted the CC before they treat you. They will take a charge of $1500 before they start (policies with a "Hospital Admission Guarantee/Payment" clause will make this payment directly to the Hospital to get you admitted).

 

I have lived this first hand and the last thing you are going to do is run around to get money wired to you. All you will care about is your loved one getting the help they need. I am not telling you how to travel but only trying to help give people a heads up on how it works and our experience.

 

Have you ever had to get medical attention while traveling and gone through this?

 

 

You continue to miss the point of the original discussion, which is that there are several Trip Insurance Policies that will "advance payment to a out-of-country Hospital, if needed to secure Your admission to because of an Accidental Injury or Sickness." Again, this is not where you are asking the hospital to accept your insurance up front as you state above, but where your insurance is paying the Hospital the upfront admission charge. I spoke with Admissions office at Nassau Princess Margaret Hospital and they indicate this arrangement is not an issue. I don't see any specific "Hospital Guarantee" clause in my Blue Cross policy - just because you have high medical coverages doesn't mean it includes a "Hospital Admission Guarantee/Payment". .

 

My BCBS FEP Policy includes a separate Out-Of-Country Policy and a network of out-of-country Providers and Hospitals, that includes the Princess Margaret Hospital in Nassau. BCBS claims that under this Policy this network Hospital will accept your BCBS Out-of-Country insurance as payment and will Bill Blue Cross - I'm working to separately confirm this with the Hospital.

 

ken

[nbsjcruiser]

You continue to miss the point of the original discussion, which is that there are several Trip Insurance Policies that will "advance payment to a out-of-country Hospital, if needed to secure Your admission to because of an Accidental Injury or Sickness." Again, this is not where you are asking the hospital to accept your insurance up front as you state above, but where your insurance is paying the Hospital the upfront admission charge. I spoke with Admissions office at Nassau Princess Margaret Hospital and they indicate this arrangement is not an issue. I don't see any specific "Hospital Guarantee" clause in my Blue Cross policy - just because you have high medical coverages doesn't mean it includes a "Hospital Admission Guarantee/Payment". .

 

My BCBS FEP Policy includes a separate Out-Of-Country Policy and a network of out-of-country Providers and Hospitals, that includes the Princess Margaret Hospital in Nassau. BCBS claims that under this Policy this network Hospital will accept your BCBS Out-of-Country insurance as payment and will Bill Blue Cross - I'm working to separately confirm this with the Hospital.

 

ken

 

For crying out loud. Our BC plan is a travel plan purchased specifically for travel out of country only and has a clause for up front payment.

 

FYI, here is almost a verbatim discussion that I had with The Doctor's Hospital in Nassau - "We do not accept any insurance company money. You MUST pay by credit card. We wont even accept a debit card".

 

Its got nothing to do with your insurance company or my insurance company. Its up to the individual hospital so your policy or my policy could be useless when it comes to paying up front. If the hospital decides not to accept it, they wont. The Doctor's hospital WILL NOT ACCEPT YOURS OR MY POLICY. PERIOD. I'm not lying about this. This is what happened.

 

Don't forget the ambulance company would not accept insurance, nor did Carnival. So be like the boy scouts - be prepared.

[nbsjcruiser]

You continue to miss the point of the original discussion, which is that there are several Trip Insurance Policies that will "advance payment to a out-of-country Hospital, if needed to secure Your admission to because of an Accidental Injury or Sickness." Again, this is not where you are asking the hospital to accept your insurance up front as you state above, but where your insurance is paying the Hospital the upfront admission charge. I spoke with Admissions office at Nassau Princess Margaret Hospital and they indicate this arrangement is not an issue. I don't see any specific "Hospital Guarantee" clause in my Blue Cross policy - just because you have high medical coverages doesn't mean it includes a "Hospital Admission Guarantee/Payment". .

 

My BCBS FEP Policy includes a separate Out-Of-Country Policy and a network of out-of-country Providers and Hospitals, that includes the Princess Margaret Hospital in Nassau. BCBS claims that under this Policy this network Hospital will accept your BCBS Out-of-Country insurance as payment and will Bill Blue Cross - I'm working to separately confirm this with the Hospital.

 

ken

 

Just for your info Princess Margaret is a public hospital. They will accept you for $40. This will get you a 4 hour wait to be seen. if this is what you want when your loved one is injured than go for it.

 

Our policy in Canada not a US policy has full coverage up front but if the hospital will not accept any insurance you have to pay.

 

If you would like the phone numbers for the hospital and ambulance I will gladly provide them. I want you to get the right inf

 

You can lead a horse to water but you can not make him drink.

[klfrodo]

Just for your info Princess Margaret is a public hospital. They will accept you for $40. This will get you a 4 hour wait to be seen. if this is what you want when your loved one is injured than go for it.

 

.

 

If it's a question of

A) You die if you don't have $3000

or

B) You might have to wait a little bit but we'll treat you and accept your insurance

 

 

I'll take B

[Virga]

I just realized I have experience in these matters =P

 

Once upon a time, I got violently ill on my honeymoon. I don't know what it was, as I avoided all water - tough for a person who drinks nothing but water and whiskey. Maybe it was drinking soda that made me sick =P Anyway, About a week into my trip to Sri Lanka, I got the worst stomach bug I've ever had. Couldn't keep anything down, and somehow, some way, there was still stuff coming out the other end. Shouldn't have been possible. After almost 48 hours, when I realized there was actually a possibility that I'd die of dehydration, they took me to the hospital.

 

The nurses and doctors were wonderful. I was never asked for insurance. They admitted me almost immediately, and had an IV in me in no time. I got a clean bed to hang out in for a few hours, IV medication, and a script to fill in their on-site pharmacy.

 

I was glad to be told that I'd be fine, but was sort of freaking out about the costs. When we went to check out, the total bill was something like $24. Yes. $24. The prescription was another $2. I am certainly NOT recommending you travel without insurance, but some public hospitals are both well-managed and financially feasible. The one I visited in Sri Lanka certainly qualified. I can't afford $5k, so I'd hit up the $40 admission hospital and cross my fingers.

[Ken076]

Just for your info Princess Margaret is a public hospital. They will accept you for $40. This will get you a 4 hour wait to be seen. if this is what you want when your loved one is injured than go for it.

 

Our policy in Canada not a US policy has full coverage up front but if the hospital will not accept any insurance you have to pay.

 

If you would like the phone numbers for the hospital and ambulance I will gladly provide them. I want you to get the right inf

 

You can lead a horse to water but you can not make him drink.?????????

 

nbs - My interest isn't in arguing with you or disrespecting you - I'm interested in tracking down loopholes and such in Trip Insurance Policies.

 

Along those lines,

• Did you contact CANAssistance and did they direct you to Doctors Hospital?
  
• Did CanAssistance contact the Hospital and attempt to advance funds to Doctor's Hospital and the Hospital refused an advance?
  
• What did CANAssist tell you to do when the Hospital refused their advance payment.
  

I can understand the Hospital not accepting your Insurance, but I can't understand them not accepting an actual advance payment from your Insurance to guarantee treatment.

 

I do have contact info for the Hospital and I'll contact them tomorrow to quiz them on this scenario.

 

thanks,

Ken

[nbsjcruiser]

nbs - My interest isn't in arguing with you or disrespecting you - I'm interested in tracking down loopholes and such in Trip Insurance Policies.

 

Along those lines,

• Did you contact CANAssistance and did they direct you to Doctors Hospital?
  
• Did CanAssistance contact the Hospital and attempt to advance funds to Doctor's Hospital and the Hospital refused an advance?
  
• What did CANAssist tell you to do when the Hospital refused their advance payment.
  

I can understand the Hospital not accepting your Insurance, but I can't understand them not accepting an actual advance payment from your Insurance to guarantee treatment.

 

I do have contact info for the Hospital and I'll contact them tomorrow to quiz them on this scenario.

 

thanks,

Ken

 

Yes the insurance was contacted. The file was opened while at the ship.The bill was applied to S&S no they do not take insurance.You can call and ask them.The ambulance was called I informed them I had insurance. Was told we do not accept insurance, credit card please. Phone number for them is 1-242-322-2881. Arrived at hospital. They took me to the admi offices. AI explained that I had insurance. The girl explained that the do not accept insurance and they would need a CC. They took $1500 and explained if it was less it would be refunded if more would keep charging. The hospital phone number # 1-242-322-8411. I could only make the call on the information that I had at the time.

 

I did call BC and told them and was informed to pay the bills and they would pay back when I arrived home.

 

When you have a loved one hurt and not knowing if he will need to be in the OR in a few minutes. The break is near a cluster of blood vessels and shard's of bone are floating near the vessels and can tear one open at any time. This was all told to me at the ship. Thank goodness they did not have to operate.

 

Now you have 1 half hour to decide everything please tell me what you would do.

 

i really can not understand why you feel I am so wrong. I am only telling you what happened to me. I do not have cheap insurance. I am not whining and crying to Carnival to pay my bills because I had no insurance. Even if I had no insurance it still would not be their fault. I always try to make sure that I am self sufficient so I can make the best decisions for my loved ones. Money in no way will ever that their place If you do not like what i have to say please feel free not to read my posts.

[Ken076]

Yes the insurance was contacted. The file was opened while at the ship.The bill was applied to S&S no they do not take insurance. We all know already that the ship does not take insurance and that they do not bill insurance, and that they charge infirmary charges to your S&S. I never mentioned that as an issue. You can call and ask them.The ambulance was called I informed them I had insurance. Was told we do not accept insurance, credit card please. We all know already that the ambulance services do not take insurance and that they do not bill insurance, and that they charge you and you have to be reimbursed. I never mentioned that as an issue. You can call and ask them.Phone number for them is 1-242-322-2881. Arrived at hospital. They took me to the admi offices. AI explained that I had insurance. The girl explained that the do not accept insurance and they would need a CC. They took $1500 and explained if it was less it would be refunded if more would keep charging. As you specifically describe the scenario the hospital was correct - they do not take your insurance based on you handing them your insurance card - your Insurance clearly states that you have to call CAN Assist, be referred to a Hospital, and that CANAssist will arrange a money transfer to the Hospital for any advance that the Hospital requires for your Admission (any charges above the admission advance you would normally have to pay for and be reimbursed- CANAssist/BCBS HAS to do this, not the customer. The hospital phone number # 1-242-322-8411. I could only make the call on the information that I had at the time.

 

I did call BC and told them and was informed to pay the bills and they would pay back when I arrived home.

 

When you have a loved one hurt and not knowing if he will need to be in the OR in a few minutes. The break is near a cluster of blood vessels and shard's of bone are floating near the vessels and can tear one open at any time. This was all told to me at the ship. Thank goodness they did not have to operate.

 

Now you have 1 half hour to decide everything please tell me what you would do.

 

i really can not understand why you feel I am so wrong. Not criticising or anything, just trying to determine where the process went wrong. I am only telling you what happened to me. I do not have cheap insurance. I am not whining and crying to Carnival to pay my bills because I had no insurance. Even if I had no insurance it still would not be their fault. I always try to make sure that I am self sufficient so I can make the best decisions for my loved ones. Money in no way will ever that their place If you do not like what i have to say please feel free not to read my posts. .

 

NBS - As I mentioned previously, nbs - My interest isn't in arguing with you or disrespecting you - I'm interested in tracking down loopholes and such in Trip Insurance Policies. But...I won't bother anymore with this thread or check with the Hospital.

[klfrodo]

Now you have 1 half hour to decide everything please tell me what you would do.

 

i really can not understand why you feel I am so wrong. I am only telling you what happened to me. I do not have cheap insurance. I am not whining and crying to Carnival to pay my bills because I had no insurance. Even if I had no insurance it still would not be their fault. I always try to make sure that I am self sufficient so I can make the best decisions for my loved ones. Money in no way will ever that their place If you do not like what i have to say please feel free not to read my posts.

 

I'm kind of frustrated also. Stop being so defensive

Ken is NOT chastising you or even trying to demean you in any way. Ken is only trying to help others learn from what could have been a mistake on either your part or the hospitals part.

We all understand that you had to make the best decision you could under trying times.

If you take the time to read and do a little research, Ken is one of the heros on this board who knows what he's talking about and helps hundrends better understand many things about travel to include Travel Insurance and the little nuances thereof.

[nbsjcruiser]

I'm kind of frustrated also. Stop being so defensive

Ken is NOT chastising you or even trying to demean you in any way. Ken is only trying to help others learn from what could have been a mistake on either your part or the hospitals part.

We all understand that you had to make the best decision you could under trying times.

If you take the time to read and do a little research, Ken is one of the heros on this board who knows what he's talking about and helps hundrends better understand many things about travel to include Travel Insurance and the little nuances thereof.

 

I understand what you are saying. But I have good insurance and they were involved in the whole process. They knew what hospital we were taken to and approved it. The insurance company can not make the hospital accept the payment. On this note i will end this conversation. i hope everyone good health and safe travels.

[dbone]

I am cruising for the 4th time soon,I have personal and trip insurance. I want to thank Ken for pushing for answers, I came to this thread to try and learn from others misfortune and for that reason I thank NBS. I understand why Ken is trying pick apart details....that's how we learn. I can understand NBS getting annoyed,when your loved one is hurt, NOTHING eles matters! Thank you for sharing your story and Ken,thanks from all of us who were getting alittle scared reading this thread. Many of us cruise with modest credit card limits and are trying to be informed. Just a blue collar worker trying to take cruise savely!

[nrdsb4]

There seem to be disagreements over terminology-a hospital "won't take insurance"-that implies having to file, waiting to hear back from the insurance company on what they'll pay for, and finally getting the check cut. Which seems to differ significantly from what Ken is talking about, which is the insurance company paying the deposit up front (no different than the client paying up front, no?) without the hospital having to file or wait AT ALL for payment. I'm not understanding why any hospital would care WHO pays the deposit, as long as it is paid.

[DryCreek]

While on the Ecstasy a few weeks ago, my wife witnessed a "Slip and Fall" occur. A rather corpulent young woman was descending from the upper level of the Blue Sapphire on the wide center staircase. With less than two steps to the bottom, she "fell" and landed on her heiny. As expected, there were loud theatrics accompanied by occasional outbursts of profanity. The "indicated injury" was to the right ankle. The ships doctor and staff were summoned and the lady carried off to the infirmary would be my guess.

I was discussing this with my wife and fellow passengers seated near us. As best I understand, this lady is about to get quite the surprise. Unlike being in the U.S., a whole new set of rules apply in this case. In many instances here, a slip and fall is settled rather quickly rather than litigated - and sometimes with only a precursory investigation. Now if this were to happen on say.... a foreign flagged ship, in international waters, and with the area lit better than it normally was (start of the last high-stakes Bingo! game) - what do you think the outcome would be? My guess is that this person will receive a surprisingly large medical bill from Carnival, and will be unable to find a personal injury attorney versed in maritime law that will pursue her T&F claim. Anybody here care to chime in and render an opinion? I would be interested to find out how the whole affair ends myself, but I doubt that I would be able to read about it in the Bosque County News.

[viaggi_per_mare]

I understand what you are saying. But I have good insurance and they were involved in the whole process. They knew what hospital we were taken to and approved it. The insurance company can not make the hospital accept the payment. On this note i will end this conversation. i hope everyone good health and safe travels.

 

We do travel and have had to get medical care in Europe before. As I posted, we have military insurance so we are fine. You are helping people who lurk here and have now made some plans in case this happens to them. There are always people who will argue about this, or other topics. I wouldn't trust a hospital who told me one thing in person today, because tomorrow it can and often will be different. (even in the USA - I am a nurse and worked in hospitals for years)

Americans as a group are ignorant when it comes to "rights, and legal matters" out of the country. You are lucky if they even accepted your credit card in some places. "We don't treat foreigners" DOES happen outside the USA, and YES, you can die on the doorstep of the hospital. While this is not the usual scenario, it CAN happen so being prepared and posting your experience is very valuable to the people reading this thread.

 

Thank you from the many people who are now better prepared for problems that occur out of the US because of the thread you started to help everyone.

Happy cruising.

[viaggi_per_mare]

While on the Ecstasy a few weeks ago, my wife witnessed a "Slip and Fall" occur. A rather corpulent young woman was descending from the upper level of the Blue Sapphire on the wide center staircase. With less than two steps to the bottom, she "fell" and landed on her heiny. As expected, there were loud theatrics accompanied by occasional outbursts of profanity. The "indicated injury" was to the right ankle. The ships doctor and staff were summoned and the lady carried off to the infirmary would be my guess.

I was discussing this with my wife and fellow passengers seated near us. As best I understand, this lady is about to get quite the surprise. Unlike being in the U.S., a whole new set of rules apply in this case. In many instances here, a slip and fall is settled rather quickly rather than litigated - and sometimes with only a precursory investigation. Now if this were to happen on say.... a foreign flagged ship, in international waters, and with the area lit better than it normally was (start of the last high-stakes Bingo! game) - what do you think the outcome would be? My guess is that this person will receive a surprisingly large medical bill from Carnival, and will be unable to find a personal injury attorney versed in maritime law that will pursue her T&F claim. Anybody here care to chime in and render an opinion? I would be interested to find out how the whole affair ends myself, but I doubt that I would be able to read about it in the Bosque County News.

 

I'm not sure how carnival would handle this, but I did fall and break my hand while on a Carnival excursion and they X-rayed it and braced it so I could travel home and get a cast put on at home (that part was my choice, but they gave me several options) We had no charges to our S & S card and we were told it was because we we were on a Carnival tour and not an independent one. I did get a form from Carnival when I got home for my insurance info (we have military which will cover on the ship). We never heard another word and I assume the insurance company paid. I called Carnival a few months after and they said all was taken care of and we didn't owe anything to Carnival (we decided we better make sure before we went on our next cruise)

 

My assumption would be that they would cover a fall on a ship, but besides my own experience, I really don't know. Some people just look for opportunities to file lawsuits against big companies and I am sure that it happens rather frequently to Carnival, no matter how reasonable they are to the people when it happens.