Medical Evacutation from a Cruise

[FlightMedic555]

From my knowledge the transport from the ship to shore would be completed by some type of agency such as the Coast Guard. In most circumstances the patients is stabilized or stable enough to await the ship getting to the next port.

 

Many insurance policies include evacuation to the closest appropriate hospital. This means that if you are in Tahiti and need an emergent cardiac procedure you could be brought to New Zealand or Australia. Other policies provide evacuation back to your home city.

 

I just paid my final payment for my upcoming Australia-Tahiti cruise and I have thus far not purchased insurance. A gamble for sure but at $800 a head it is pricey.

 

As you may be able to tell from my name I do have some experience in this arena. We recently coordinated a medical jet flight from the NY area to India. Cost was $250,000 and the patient's family paid out of pocket, no insurance.

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

Does anyone know on MedJetAssist, if you have the family plan covering both spouses, if one spouse needs to be evacuated back to the hospital of their choice, does the second spouse get to go with the first spouse, or does the second spouse have to go separately? Thanks. Barbara

[cruiseco]

Does anyone know on MedJetAssist, if you have the family plan covering both spouses, if one spouse needs to be evacuated back to the hospital of their choice, does the second spouse get to go with the first spouse, or does the second spouse have to go separately? Thanks. Barbara

 

I'm sure that will be a decision to be made by the pilot/staff on the plane. I had a client years ago that did accompany her husband on a flight but there's no guarantee that there will be room depending on the aircraft, destination, and the number of medical staff needed on the flight to provide care to the patient. And if you don't have a passport with you you're probably not going anyway (just thought I'd stir that up again).

 

MedJet doesn't have enough aircraft to cover the entire globe so often they contract with other service providers to handle flights. Those providers might have completely different internal regulations regarding passengers so you might not get to go even if MedJet says it's OK.