Friendly Advice from a Yank regarding medical insurance

[rumpelstiltskin]

Hello,

 

I've been lurking on this board and have read about some of the experiences non-Americans had when receiving medical care in the USA.

 

I'm going to specifically address surgical procedures.

 

***Be sure to get the Diagnosis Code from the surgeon's nurse before you have the procedure.***

 

The nurse is supposed to provide the insurance provider with this info, but it doesn't always get done.

 

Without the code, the insurance company can refuse to pay the health care providers.

 

This almost happened to me when I began receiving phone calls from a bill collector on behalf of the anesthesiologist.

[Pushka]

I think if you are unfortunate enough to need a surgical procedure in the USA then your Travel Insurance company will have been contacted and procedure approved well before then unless it was a life and death procedure.

[rumpelstiltskin]

I hope you are correct.

 

I'm not sure if there is a different protocol for travel insurance.

 

Cheers.

[goodycruising]

Thanks, any advice like this is good to have in the back of your mind just in case. When you are all upset and stressed it would be so confusing I imagine.

 

Many of us think we are covered for whatever happens, but you have to dot the i's and cross the t's. :)

[GUT2407]

G'day rumpelstiltskin

 

No need to lurk join in anytime, we don't bite [very often].

 

Thanks for that, and we need to remember that when we are on a ship we will be billed the same as in the USA.

 

I can't believe anyone will let full refund day pass without insurance, anything can go wrong and $100 or so for insurance versus a $3000 cruise a real no brainer for me.

[Esilef]

Great advice thank you.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[rumpelstiltskin]

G'day rumpelstiltskin

 

No need to lurk join in anytime, we don't bite [very often].

 

 

Thank you for the warm welcome.

 

What you say is true because I posted often last year when we cruised Down Under for the first time.

 

Had a post cruise stay in Sydney & Wollongong.

 

Discovered that Aussies & Kiwis are just as friendly on land & sea as they are in cyberspace.

[rumpelstiltskin]

And make sure your Travel Insurance has Unlimited cover. There are still some dopes who travel with no travel insurance or a low claim limit.

 

So true.

 

My inlaws cruised quite often without travel insurance due to the fact they enjoyed good health.

 

But one time when they booked a European cruise, they decided to take out travel coverage.

 

That was the best decision they ever made because:

 

The day before disembarkation, my father inlaw became seriously ill & had to be transferred to a local hospital for emergency surgery.

 

The rest of the immediate family had to travel to Belgium to be with him.

 

Nine days later, he passed away.

 

His remains were being repatriated on Sept. 11, 2001, but the flight had to return to Europe when American airspace was closed.

 

So, the insurance not only paid for all of his medical expenses, it also paid for the family's lodging in a nice hotel for 9 days. That was a total of three rooms.

 

The insurance also paid for the repatriation of his remains from Belgium to the States.

 

My mother inlaw did not have any out of pocket expenses other than ground transportation, the return flight to the States, and all meals.

[Esilef]

One way to ensure you don't need travel insurrance is to buy it.

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[Cruise_me_Crazy]

One way to ensure you don't need travel insurrance is to buy it.

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

 

Ha ha! Ain't that the truth!

 

Welcome Rumple. I have just completed a TA from Rome to Florida and loved the U.S. Cruisers I met. Currently in Vegas & realise why all the delightful cruisers from your country begged us not to believe all of US is like the peeps at FT Lauderdale and Vegas :D, definitely different demographics. Get the good & the bad, but overall, fantastic people :)

[rumpelstiltskin]

I have just completed a TA from Rome to Florida and loved the U.S. Cruisers I met. Currently in Vegas & realise why all the delightful cruisers from your country begged us not to believe all of US is like the peeps at FT Lauderdale and Vegas :D, definitely different demographics. Get the good & the bad, but overall, fantastic people :)

 

 

I grew up in the middle of the Great Plains. This is why I love the ocean & mountains so much.

 

I now live on the West Coast, & trust me, Toto...I'm not in Kansas anymore.

 

On a recent trip to Boston, a tourist from Texas remarked to me that he found Bostonians to be very abrupt.

 

I explained to him that they truly are very nice people, but they live a much faster paced lifestyle than those of us from west of the Mississippi River.

And that is why they are mistaken for being abrupt.

 

It's the same with New Yorkers...great folks with a no nonsense attitude.

 

Yes, we are a very diverse people.

 

And please don't believe all the stories about us packing heat & being trigger happy.

 

Hope you enjoy your visit to Vegas...and don't get robbed by the One Armed Bandits!