Family Medical Insurance Coverage?

[angelndscz]

I am sure this will be a dumb question but here it goes...

 

I am reading about travel insurance to cover medical, why? Why would your regular medical insurance not cover you on the ship? Is it because the ship does not accept any insurance? Has anyone ever tried to file with their own insurance company and it's been rejected?

 

I personally have never paid for any sick medical care or co-pays ever. My insurance has always covered everything. The only thing I have ever paid for was for things my insurance company says is for cosmetic type treatment. I have paid out of pocket for dental as I only havea certain percent covered under my dental plan, but then we file the remainder under hubby dental plan and they reimburse us the rest.

[1025cruise]

The ships do not accept insurance, but will provide paperwork for you to file your own claim for reimbursement once you get home.

 

Plus, will your insurance cover you if something happens to you while you are international? I can assure you, handing a hospital in Mexico (or anywhere in the Caribbean) a Blue Cross card will still result in asking for a credit card.

[Mom2B&Z]

Our extended health plan explicitly states it covers us while out of the country. There is a small card we have to bring with us, with a phone number to call before we accept any treatment. We do have to pay for services ourselves, then get reimbursed.

If I were you, I would ask a lot of questions about coverage and limitations with your current plan. There are some threads on CC about the cost of being airlifted off a cruise ship, and it's about the same as the new car I bought last year.

[angelndscz]

Yes, I already know my medical coverage is worldwide. Paying up front is not a concern. I was more curious because of reading the other posts how this worked.

 

Actually, I had plans to go get my anthrax shot this week, so if I think of any questions, I will ask then. I don't foresee any concerns. If we need treatment, we get it. We deal with insurance later and hopefully get reimbursed 100%. My family has a pretty high pain tolerance level, so it has to be really bad before we go to the doctor.

 

We did buy trip insurance, but I was only thinking along of the lines if we cancel the trip, like we did 2 years ago when we were going to cruise over Christmas but ended up not being able to go. I never even knew before coming to this board that it covered medical. I will have to have the hubby read the fine print but the TA website looks like it says it does.

[angelndscz]

I am reading some websites and it looks like my kids may not be covered world-wide under the full Tricare Prime benefits. I will ask next week. And it looks like the Cruise Insurance is useless to me anways. A retiree with Tricare For Life posted a question about a cruise (I have Tricare Prime) to the military times and this was the answer:

 

I know of no reliable U.S. insurer that sells a genuine, short-term Tricare supplement.

 

A genuine Tricare supplement states in its fine print that it is written specifically to be a Tricare supplement. It covers only what Tricare covers, and it pays only after Tricare pays. Regardless of whatever else the policy provides, that description and purpose are required by federal law.

 

Short-term policies offered by cruise agents are inadvisable for Tricare beneficiaries because, on analysis of their fine print, all require them to be second payer to the customer’s other health insurance. But federal law does not allow Tricare to pay first, with only two exceptions: when it is used with a genuine Tricare supplement, or with welfare-related plans such as Medicaid. If the short-term policy doesn’t pay first, Tricare can’t pay anything.

 

Without a short-term Tricare supplement, it appears that your only protection from Tricare’s deductible and cost shares may be to buy a regular Tricare supplement, or to rely on your $3,000 catastrophic cap to limit your out-of-pocket liability.

 

If you opt for a regular Tricare supplement, read the fine print carefully before you buy. Some have deductibles, restrictions on pre-existing conditions or other limitations. Thus, they may provide less protection than you need for the short term.

[angelndscz]

When I plug in my kids info on the Tricare website (status, coverage, country) to find out about coverage overseas while on vacation, I get the following answer.

 

Health Care Services

If you have an emergency, go to the nearest emergency care facility or call the International SOS Medical Assistance number for the region where you are traveling. Contact International SOS before leaving the facility, preferably within 24 hours or on the next business day. Prior authorization is not required for emergency care.

• Eurasia-Africa: +44-20-8762-8133
  
• Latin America & Canada: 1-215-942-8320
  
• Pacific
  
  • Singapore: +65-6338-9277
    
  • Sydney: +61-2-9273-2760
    

  [*]Look up International Country Codes for assistance calling abroad.

If you need urgent care, contact the International SOS before seeking care or before making payments. Click here for country-specific contact information. If you do not get a referral, you'll be using the point-of-service option, resulting in higher out-of-pocket costs. Routine care will not usually be authorized when you are traveling.

 

Just kinda bored today, not really worried about it. I have 5 month to ask quetions. LOL.

[xxoocruiser]

Deleted

[CeleBrat]

I am reading about travel insurance to cover medical, why? Why would your regular medical insurance not cover you on the ship? Is it because the ship does not accept any insurance? Has anyone ever tried to file with their own insurance company and it's been rejected?

 

I personally have never paid for any sick medical care or co-pays ever. My insurance has always covered everything. The only thing I have ever paid for was for things my insurance company says is for cosmetic type treatment. I have paid out of pocket for dental as I only havea certain percent covered under my dental plan, but then we file the remainder under hubby dental plan and they reimburse us the rest.

 

Sounds like you have GREAT insurance, not having had to ever pay a copay. The rest of us have to pay copays everywhere. So, by purchasing travel insurance they will completely cover your med expenses, versus having to pay an "emergency" or out-of-network copay through your insurance. For our family, visiting the ship's doc would be a $50 copay, since he isn't our primary. And, a hospital visit would be $250. Ouch!

 

CeleBrat

[beachchick]

Sounds like you have GREAT insurance, not having had to ever pay a copay. The rest of us have to pay copays everywhere. So, by purchasing travel insurance they will completely cover your med expenses, versus having to pay an "emergency" or out-of-network copay through your insurance. For our family, visiting the ship's doc would be a $50 copay, since he isn't our primary. And, a hospital visit would be $250. Ouch!

 

CeleBrat

 

I was thinking the same thing. Our premiums aren't cheap and then we pay co-pays for almost everything. It really adds up and interferes with our travel budget! Dental, prescriptions, and surgeries are especially high cost.

 

Anyway, what great insurance.:) Wish we all had something like it.

 

beachchick

[ABQmom]

Just wondering what you have decided to do? My husband is active duty Air Force and we were wondering the same things since we have Tricare Prime. I don't want to spend a lot on medical coverage I can't use, I can just look for trip insurance that will cover in case the trip is cancelled. Looking forward to hearing what you have found.

 

Thanks,

 

Michelle

[nothriver]

Try the trip insurance board for advice, but I believe there are some travel insurance policies that provide Primary coverage, meaning they pay first, and your insurance company pays second. We bought our trip insurance quite awhile ago, so I don't remember the details but try this link for more information:

 

http://www.tripinsurancestore.com/5/primary-secondary.shtml