Did you visit the Ship Doctor?

[a1moty]

:rolleyes:I was wondering if any of you have had to visit the Ship Doctor...what time was it? How much did he charge you?

[djmess]

Had to take my son this past cruise. During "office hours" the rate was $105. It went up for things like after hours, and cabin visits but I don't remember those prices. We also had to pay for some cough medicine w/codiene and an antibiotic. All total it cost me $160.

 

Will soon see what my NCL purchased insurance will actually cover. I started the claim process today.

[bean24]

I was hurt on a ships sponsored excursion. I was seen by the medical staff three times and never billed. My son had bronchiolitis and we were charged 110 twice for the two visits.

[Lexi731]

I visited the ships doctor on a RCCL ship once. Two IV's, medicine and a cabin house call the next day was over $800 which thankfully my trip insurance paid me back for. I've always taken the insurance after that.

[contentsam]

We buy travel insurance for all of cruises. I believer we used them four times and the travel insurance always reimbursed us. It is worth the investment.

[jack300s]

I went to the cruise doctor at around 8:30am. The bill was $90 which was billed to my onboard charges.The visit was just like my doctors office visit with my regular doctor at home.

 

When I returned home I submitted to bill and charges to my health insurance provider. They paid the charges minus my normal office visit charge.

 

Hope this helps.......

[JerseyGem]

In Jan 2012, a visit during the regular office hours cost me $75 plus additional for medicine. I submitted the NCL doctor's receipt to my medical insurance (Aetna HMO), but they initially refused to pay. Upon questioning them, it turned out that the person processing the ship's form didn't see the proper codes (CPT codes?) so didn't think it was "justified". We had to argue and finally asked for an Aetna employee who had been on a cruise. That person finally understood! (For example, she understood that I really couldn't go to my local doctor when I was out at sea LOL). Aetna paid all but my standard copay. We also had trip insurance as a back-up but they want you to try your own insurance first.

 

As for the ship's doctor- she was wonderful and quite competent (at least for a sinus infection). If you get sick, please don't hesitate to go to the doctor! Don't ruin your cruise to try to save a few bucks.

[toledo]

On Carnival, my son came down with Noro. They did not charge him for "the shot".

[punkincc]

Surprised to hear that your "home" insurance provider will cover charges incurred outside the country. I thought this was generally not done, and that Medicare did not cover as well. We have anthem/highmark. Will have to check with them.

 

Maybe we have been buying medical trip coverage needlessly?

[queenschick9b]

One of my family got injured on an excursion (not ship sponsored) he was in the med center over night and needed an x-ray. It came out to a little under $1000, but he got it all back with travel insurance.

[sjbdtz]

Surprised to hear that your "home" insurance provider will cover charges incurred outside the country. I thought this was generally not done, and that Medicare did not cover as well. We have anthem/highmark. Will have to check with them.

 

Maybe we have been buying medical trip coverage needlessly?

 

 

I'm in Canada, so it may be different but my Paramedical insurance (employer-provided (dental, RMT, etc.)) covers out-of-country BUT not for any pre-existing, and I believe there's a very low cap on the coverage.... if I needed an evac, I'd be SOL.

 

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[negn]

Needed to see md a few times while on the Dawn. dont remember the charge but was billed to my account. I submitted to my insurance co when I returned home (an HMO) and most was reimbursed.

[Medtech2]

Surprised to hear that your "home" insurance provider will cover charges incurred outside the country. I thought this was generally not done, and that Medicare did not cover as well. We have anthem/highmark. Will have to check with them.

 

Maybe we have been buying medical trip coverage needlessly?

No, you should buy trip insurance. We have Federal BC/BS but they would not pay for a knee injection for my husband because they said the doctor my husband saw was not licensed in our state, even though they said we were covered anywhere in the world.

 

I could have escalated the claim but in the end decided my time and aggravation were worth more. I was in such a good mood from the cruise my usual "fight to the death for principle" mentality was still on vacation...

[punkincc]

No, you should buy trip insurance. We have Federal BC/BS but they would not pay for a knee injection for my husband because they said the doctor my husband saw was not licensed in our state, even though they said we were covered anywhere in the world.

 

I could have escalated the claim but in the end decided my time and aggravation were worth more. I was in such a good mood from the cruise my usual "fight to the death for principle" mentality was still on vacation...

 

You are probably right. Can you imagine the nightmare if someone were hospitalized in port and the tangle of red tape if you did not have trip insurance?

 

Better to just buy it and be able to relax and enjoy the trip!

[jack300s]

When I returned home from my cruise I submitted my ships doctor bill to my Health Care Provider (Kaiser). They paid it minus a $15 office visit charge they charge me here at home.

 

We also have a friend that hurt her ankle on a European cruise. When she returned home her bill was paid by Kaiser.

 

I never thought about it before. But it would probably be a good idea to call your Health Care provider and see what they cover. I would bet its the same coverage as your plan at home.

[dwjoe]

Surprised to hear that your "home" insurance provider will cover charges incurred outside the country. I thought this was generally not done, and that Medicare did not cover as well. We have anthem/highmark. Will have to check with them.

 

Maybe we have been buying medical trip coverage needlessly?

My health insurer says they will cover out-of-country expenses as out-of-network subject to the usual deductibles, reasonable & customary terms, and out-of-pocket maximums.

 

Check with your insurer and then decide if you need full travel medical insurance or "top up" type coverage.

[Shelli]

My health insurer says they will cover out-of-country expenses as out-of-network subject to the usual deductibles, reasonable & customary terms, and out-of-pocket maximums.

 

Check with your insurer and then decide if you need full travel medical insurance or "top up" type coverage.

 

And MY health insurance company doesn't cover out-of-network expenses... so I wouldn't be covered out of the country. Or out of the state, for that matter! It says "true medical emergencies only" are covered out of network.

 

Doesn't really matter-- I wouldn't travel without trip insurance!

[Cruzface]

On our Valor cruise, our son broke his wrist the first full day of the cruise. They set and casted him in the infirmery. Charge was $0.

[sdmike]

It really all depends on your provider and the plan you're in. A lot of HMO's won't pay for out of network treatment. Some make an exception for "emergencies" suffered locally or possibly outside your local area. PPO's and other similar programs tend to provide broader coverage but with higher co-pay, deductibles and out-of-pocket minimums. It really all depends on what you're in.

 

FWIW, I had not purchased travel insurance in the past but likely will going forward. All these recent threads on medical issues and getting bumped off ships has me worried. :p

[Cruzface]

Mike, I'm with you. Never purchased insurance on any of our 8 previous cruises, but I feel like we are tempting fate. I almost pulled the trigger on 3d party insurance before our Epic cruise but after reading the fine print, it didn't seem to cover the things I was most worried about, like missing a flight.

[dwjoe]

Back to the OP... I suffered a cut on a NCL ship excursion a few years back and went to the infirmary. I was not charged, but answered a lot of questions from the ship's head of security. I think they had to fill out an incident report because it happened on one of their excursions.

 

Not sure if this was Celebrity or NCL, but I also saw the ship's doctor on a different occasion for an ear/throat/cough type infection, received antibiotics, and was charged $250. Travel insurance did not cover it because I'd taken the precaution of seeing my doctor about it two days before the cruise and was told it was a minor cold. So the travel insurance disqualified it as a pre-existing condition. My regular health insurance covered it as out-of-network but I had not fulfilled the deductible so was not reimbursed.

Edited March 13, 2013 by dwjoe

[BubMunkeyBles]

I did when I got the stomach flu for 3 days on a Carnival Dream cruise. I saw the doctor twice and filed it with my regular health insurance and they reimbursed the difference between what I paid and my coshare since I already had met my deductible for the year(I'm on Tricare Standard). It was a $200 or so and I got reimbursed about $170. I don't normally get trip insurance unless DH is traveling with me.

[retiring soon]

Hi all!

 

I damaged my meniscus on my Epic Med cruise so went to the ship's doctor who was from S Africa. He prescribed painkillers, sold me a tensor bandage, rented me a crutch ($50 deposit) & charged me approx $140 which was reimbursed in full by my out of country medical insurance from work.

It was reassuring to know that help is available onboard.

 

~ Jo ~ :)

[NayRN]

I fell on Barnados (thanks to visual problems due to scopolamine) and had a pretty good gash over my eye. Went to the ships doctor who glued the lac closed. I was charged $90 to my onboard account. Turned the bill into my health insurance through the hospital..they counted it as an emergency visit and my co-pay for that is $100! So I didn't get reimbursed but the bonus...the doctor was from South Africa and gorgeous! Couldn't stop starring into his beautiful blue eyes!! Yummy!! :o

[Seago2]

We buy travel insurance for all of cruises. I believer we used them four times and the travel insurance always reimbursed us. It is worth the investment.

 

So.... So you just show them proof of the insurance or do you pay and then submit for reimbursement?