Medical insurance for travel outside US

[Wavelet]

Are there any recommendations for medical insurance when traveling outside of US? My husband and I have Medicare together with supplemental health insurance, but I believe they can’t be used in a foreign country. Any recommendations? We will purchase Medjet, but that only covers evacuation not medical bills. Thanks.

[Essiesmom]

There is a board here for travel insurance.it’s under Cruise Discussions.  But check your supplemental policies.  My sister is covered with her Cigna plan, and I’m covered by federal BC/BS.  We also have Medicare and I also have Tricare for life.  EM

Edited March 28, 2021 by Essiesmom

[nini]

Actually, if you have one of the "Supplemental" plans, ( like Plan G, etc.), then there  is some international coverage but it carries a 50K life maximum. This may not reAlly  be enough for even one incident in today's world.

A Medicare Advantage Plan does not include any international benefits.

[klfrodo]

I use www.tripinsurancestore.com for my travel insurance needs.

 

I'm getting ready to go to Mexico for a week. I don't want or need any of the trip cancellation or trip interruption or anything. I just want the medical coverage.

 

Under Trip Costs, I put $499 per person. (Why $499 you ask. Price for insurance is the same whether you put $1 or $499. By putting $499, for those unexpected times when maybe you miss a flight or have to stay over a night and the insurance pays out based on 150% of trip costs,,,, you can recover some loss if needed)

 

This will still get you all the medical and evac coverage under the policy. My choice gives me $100K of medical and evac all for about $30 per person.

 

 

[mustgo]

On 3/28/2021 at 1:11 AM, nini said:

Actually, if you have one of the "Supplemental" plans, ( like Plan G, etc.), then there  is some international coverage but it carries a 50K life maximum. This may not reAlly  be enough for even one incident in today's world.

A Medicare Advantage Plan does not include any international benefits.

Some Medicare Advantage Plans cover the same $50, 000 lifetime charge.  Some Medicare Advantage Plans cover all emergency medical costs outside of the US the same way they do inside the US.  I believe this is new in the last couple of years.  It is worth checking your own plan.

[Hlitner]

On 3/28/2021 at 1:11 AM, nini said:

Actually, if you have one of the "Supplemental" plans, ( like Plan G, etc.), then there  is some international coverage but it carries a 50K life maximum. This may not reAlly  be enough for even one incident in today's world.

A Medicare Advantage Plan does not include any international benefits.

I think your post need correcting.  Medicare Advantage Plans MAY offer some emergency and other coverage when traveling outside the USA.   Each Advantage Plan may offer benefits in addition to what is normally provided by Medicare and those benefits can include some foreign coverage.  The only way to know, for sure, is to read each specific Plan's benefits or directly contact the plan and ask the question (if they tell you yes you might be wise to get the cite in writing).   My own Advantage Plan (which is an Aetna PPO) does cover both Emergency and Urgent care..."Worldwide."

 

That being said, there is no way I would rely on Medicare for coverage outside the USA.  We always purchase travel-medical insurance and would not feel comfortable with less then $100,000 of coverage.  On our most recent trip (we spent this winter living in Mexico) we purchased $1,000,000 of Medical Coverage (including coverage for COVID).

 

I should add that one reason (among many) that I like the GeoBlue policies is that even when they require the insured to have other insurance, Geoblue is primary for claims outside the USA.  So when we had a major claim in Japan, Geoblue simply paid our entire claim without us having to first submit our claim to Medicare (Aetna PPO).  Trust me that if you are doing all the work and paperwork involved with a big claim it is really nice to only deal with a single insurer.  If you have a travel policy that is "secondary" then you would normally have to first submit it to the primary insurer and later deal with the secondary insurer (some insurers will do some of the claims coordination...but don't count on it!)

 

Hank

 

 

[nini]

23 hours ago, mustgo said:

Some Medicare Advantage Plans cover the same $50, 000 lifetime charge.  Some Medicare Advantage Plans cover all emergency medical costs outside of the US the same way they do inside the US.  I believe this is new in the last couple of years.  It is worth checking your own plan.

mustgo- A special Thank You to you! In the "olden days", the Advantage Plans did not offer any International coverage as the Supplemental Plans of G, N, C, F which are a lifetime max of $50,000.

 

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, thanks to mustgo, I called our Advantage Plan insurance carrier and NOW we have International Emergency coverage WITH NO CAP!

And yes, as Hank has discussed, it is wise to also purchase an outside carrier.

[mustgo]

Glad to help.  However I don't understand why one would also need to purchase from an outside carrier unless it is for evacuation.  I am thinking we would not need it since we also have evacuation from Chase Reserve credit card.  What am I missing?

[Roger88]

On 3/28/2021 at 3:44 AM, Essiesmom said:

There is a board here for travel insurance.it’s under Cruise Discussions.  But check your supplemental policies.  My sister is covered with her Cigna plan, and I’m covered by federal BC/BS.  We also have Medicare and I also have Tricare for life.  EM

Its better to check all those policies beforehand. I mean many people purchase insurance plans without even reading what is included and then they  yell at people for not telling them about what is included. Please read whats in it before making a purchase

[nini]

Hank- I always appreciate your amazing experience (of life and traveling).

However, the worldwide coverage for the Advantage Plans is fairly recent and the company (Regence) said there is no annual or lifetime limit.  And the 50K lifetime limit applies to the Supplemental Plans of G,N,C, F. (C and F only were available up until 2020).

 

Only recently were we eligible for an Advantage Plan (due to our county now included in the eligibility for an Advantage Plan).

 

And YES! You are so very correct to say- "That being said, there is no way I would rely on Medicare for coverage outside the USA." I remember reading about your experiences and know that this is really important!

 

And darn it! GeoBlue is HAS NOT BEEN and IS NOT available in Washington State!!! However, through their website, they offer something through an affiliate, HTH which appears comparable.

[Roger88]

On 3/29/2021 at 7:08 PM, mustgo said:

Some Medicare Advantage Plans cover the same $50, 000 lifetime charge.  Some Medicare Advantage Plans cover all emergency medical costs outside of the US the same way they do inside the US.  I believe this is new in the last couple of years.  It is worth checking your own plan.

Those MediCare Advantageous plans are a joke. You will never be in a situation where all this help and money will be needed. I very doubt it any time soon 

[Hlitner]

On 3/30/2021 at 12:56 PM, Roger88 said:

Those MediCare Advantageous plans are a joke. You will never be in a situation where all this help and money will be needed. I very doubt it any time soon 

I would not call it a "joke" but would not consider it not very helpful when outside the USA.  But, the policy language is clear (cover emergency and urgent care) and having spent over 35 years working in the government health industry I have no doubt a claim would be paid...although it could take months.

 

I would add that we have had this particular Advantage Plan (an Aetna PPO) for about 8 years and the policy has proven to be excellent.  Since the premiums are paid for by my ex employer you will not hear me complain :).  In my case I had to choose between two different Advantage Plans and the other plan was not very good for claims outside our area of the country.    Actually, there are many excellent Advantage Plans around the country and they are very popular.   In many cases they include numerous benefits not covered by regular Supplemental Plans.   One feature that is particularly attractive about our Aetna coverage is that it no longer differentiates between in and out of network providers so unlike most PPOs we have the freedom to choose any physician or hospital without financial disadvantage. 

 

Hank

[Darcy03231]

DH is on Medicare and I make sure to purchase trip insurance with primary medical coverage for him.  So far we haven't had to use it.

[Mary229]

@Hlitner is there a reason you choose a trip plan versus an annual plan?  I usually rely on self-insurance and credit card features but knowing most destinations will now require proof of a minimum medical insurance I am investigating medical.  I am glad to see your recommendation of Geo as that reinforces Steve’s recommendation 

[Hlitner]

1 hour ago, Mary229 said:

@Hlitner is there a reason you choose a trip plan versus an annual plan?  I usually rely on self-insurance and credit card features but knowing most destinations will now require proof of a minimum medical insurance I am investigating medical.  I am glad to see your recommendation of Geo as that reinforces Steve’s recommendation 

Prior to COVID we followed a similar strategy to yours and purchased the annual GeoBlue Trekker Plan.  We never concerned ourselves with cancellation protection (we are over $100,000 ahead having NOT purchased cancellation insurance for more then 100 cruises) but do take advantage of free cancelation insurance offered through one of our credit cards (they once paid us $10,000 for a trip interruption claim).  

 

But COVID caused me a lot of concern.  As we were preparing for our usual winter in Puerto Vallarta I noted that (at the time) the annual Geoblue Trekker Policy specifically EXCLUDED coverage for anything related to COVID.  We decided to spend some extra money and purchase a $1 million medical policy for just our Puerto Vallarta trip (we stay there for 10 weeks) which did provide full coverage for COVID.   

 

But now, Geoblue has again changed their annual trekker policy so it now does cover COVID and DW and I have much less concern about COVID since we are both fully vaccinated.  So we will again be relying on the annual Geoblue policy for our upcoming trips.    Your comment about some destinations requiring medical insurance is just one more minor hassle for travelers.  One certainly needs to do their pre trip homework..especially those of us who are very independent travelers.

 

By the way, for anyone reading this who doubts needing travel medical coverage I can relay a situation I just learned today.  An American from the West Coast went to Puerto Vallarta without travel medical insurance although he has some coverage through his Kaiser plan.  While in PV he developed acute appendicitis and went to one of the excellent private hospitals where he was successfully treated.  He is now stuck in the hospital until he can come up with $43,000 to pay his bill.  He might be able to get some of that back through Kaiser but it will take months.  Meanwhile he has been stuck in that hospital for a few days while his wife tries to come up with the money (apparently their credit card limits are much too low).

 

Hank 

[Mary229]

@Hlitner  Thank your for your explanation.  Your advice is always solid.   I am taking a 3 part trip to Europe next summer and noticed that currently the required proof of insurance is for 30,000 euros.  The Trekker should be sufficient.   

[mustgo]

Thanks for posting the Geoblue trekker once again will cover covid problems.  Good to know.

[Jersey42]

Here is a side comment on GeoBlue trekker.  I have purchased the annual policy in the past and when it expires I wait until my next trip before "renewing".  My last renewal was in February of 2020.  When covid hit in March and I realized I would not be traveling anytime in the foreseeable future. I reached out to GeoBlue and they promptly refunded the unused portion of my premium without any hassles.  I will definitely purchase again.  

[Mary229]

Hello again.  Could any of you give me some insight as far as time period.  I read the plan documents and it says once the application is accepted and paid for the coverage begins.  If you do an online application and pay is 2 weeks lead time sufficient?  I wonder if you can specify a date to begin coverage, is that possible?  Of course I could call them but as I am not ready to buy.....

 

Also I reread the Schengen rules and US and Canadian citizens are exempt from the required coverage.  This Trekker plan is so affordable I see no reason not to buy it!

 

Thank you in advance for any insights.  

Edited April 12, 2021 by Mary229

[iamtrustworthy]

5 hours ago, Mary229 said:

Hello again.  Could any of you give me some insight as far as time period.  I read the plan documents and it says once the application is accepted and paid for the coverage begins.  If you do an online application and pay is 2 weeks lead time sufficient?  I wonder if you can specify a date to begin coverage, is that possible?  Of course I could call them but as I am not ready to buy.....

 

Also I reread the Schengen rules and US and Canadian citizens are exempt from the required coverage.  This Trekker plan is so affordable I see no reason not to buy it!

 

Thank you in advance for any insights.  

Hi Mary229,

 

The earliest you can have the Geo Blue Voyager and Trekker plan start is the day after you buy it, so the lastest you need to buy it is the day before you leave.

 

Steve Dasseos

[Mary229]

@iamtrustworthy  Thank you, your advice is always valuable

[iamtrustworthy]

12 hours ago, Mary229 said:

@iamtrustworthy  Thank you, your advice is always valuable

You're welcome. You may also email me if you have questions that include personal information: steve@tripinsurancestore.com

[nini]

On 3/30/2021 at 9:56 AM, Roger88 said:

Those MediCare Advantageous plans are a joke. You will never be in a situation where all this help and money will be needed. I very doubt it any time soon 

You really do not know what you are talking about.

[Hlitner]

3 hours ago, nini said:

You really do not know what you are talking about.

I originally ignored Roger88's post but you are correct that he apparently has no clue about what he speaks.  Many Medicare Advantage Plans are excellent and much better alternatives to normal Medicare.  Advantage plans must meet certain Medicare mandated minimum requirements but numerous plans go beyond the requirements with the addition of other benefits.  As an example, my own Aetna PPO plan (an Advantage Plan) provides some coverage for both Urgent and Emergency treatment worldwide.  That being said, I personally would not rely solely on that coverage so we carry an annual GeoBlue travel insurance with much higher limits and lots of evacuation coverage.

 

But when Roger88 talks about never needing a $50,000 limit I must laugh.  Having spend a lifetime working in the Medical Insurance (government) world I have seen $50,000 medical bills easily racked up in a single day.  Does it commonly happen?  No.  But it happens enough that it must be a consideration.  And the Medicare $50,000 limitation is a lifetime limit which makes it even more problematic.   This past winter when we lived in Puerto Vallarta (our usual winter home) I took the extraordinary step in buying a Million Dollar coverage policy because of our extra concern of the COVID risk.  Ironically, while we were in PV there was one publicized case where a visitor got COVID, was hospitalized in a decent local private hospital, and managed to incur over $200,000 in medical bills.  The good news is that the gentleman did survive/recover from his very serious case of COVID.

 

Hank 

[nini]

Thanks, Hank. We had a Supplement for about 4 years because Advantage Plans

were not available in our Zip Code/ County. I think if there is a decent population, then Advantage Plans are available. It is saving over $4,000.00 per year because we also have our prescriptions and dental with it. With the Supplemental Plan, we had to get separate dental and drug plans on top of it. We even have Vision now too which includes a pair of glasses each year!