Travel insurance for those on Medicare

[plh]

My In-Laws are going on a cruise with our family in July. They are 79 and 80 years old. I have been a little confused over how to deal with getting them travel insurance as they are on Medicare. Apparently Medicare does not cover them at all while out of the country unless I'm mistaken. However, should that change what type of policy we get for them? I usually just get one of the TravelGuard policies. Any advice for those who have dealt with this would be appreciated.

Paul

[Toto2Kansas]

Meicare will not cover any charges on the ship or in a foreign country. Just keep in mind the pre-existing condition clause and get that insurance purchased within the time limit on that particular policy. Medicare should not have anything to do with which type of policy you purchase, check the coverage and then purchase the best that suits your needs.

[Pam in CA]

At their age, your best bet is to have your TA get them the Princess Travel Care. There's no pre-existing requirement. Plus, if one or both of them are unable to take the cruise for whatever reason, they'll get most of their money back.

[Lynda90]

if one or both of them are unable to take the cruise for whatever reason, they'll get most of their money back.

Pam, isn't the refund for a non-covered item, a future cruise credit rather than a $$ refund? I think it's 75% for Princess standard and 90% for Princess Gold.

[margieh]

My husband is on Medicare so I always buy travel insurance that has primary medical coverage in case we need to use the insurance while we are out of the country. I purchase my insurance from insuremytrip.com and I buy Travelex insurance because it has primary health coverage. I always buy the insurance the day I purchase the cruise so the policy will cover pre-existing conditions. Thankfully, we have never had to collect on the insurance, so I cannot tell you how they pay, but I have read good things about Travelex on these boards.

 

Do not buy the cruise insurance until you have checked to be sure that their policy has medical coverage and that the insurance is primary coverage. I can't remember which cruise line I talked to, but they told me that their insurance did not have any medical coverage.

[KAJOKG]

Most people think only about collecting when they have to cancel a cruise. We buy insurance primarily for protection if we have to leave the cruise for health reasons. Friends of ours have nothing but horror stories about what happened to them. He fell and shattered his leg in St. Lucia. they could not get back on the cruise and had to visit a hospital there. They chose not to let the doctor on the island do what he wanted (good thinking since the doctors in Miami said he would have lost the use of his leg).

However, they still had to pay the St. Lucia hospital with cash. They

had to have upfront money to pay expenses. A one way flight to Miami last minute cost them $700 each, plus they had to pay another $700 for a seat where he had to place his leg. The cruise line was of no help whatsoever. They were totally on their own. To make a very long story short, the entire episode cost them $30,000. They did get some back from their medical insurance while in the Miami hospital. These folks always buy insurance, but did not for this particular cruise. Just remember, though, if you do have to go through anything and leave the ship, you will have to pay upfront even if you have insurance.....the insurance company will reimburse you later. If I had to, I could take the hit of losing the cruise fare, but the high expense of evacuating and returning home is altogether another matter. So, buy insurance!!!!!!! And Medicare will not help if you are out of the country.

[plh]

Thank you to all who answered. I think I'm straightened out now.

Paul

[flamomo]

Some Medicare supplement insurances also cover you when you are out of the country. I know mine does.

[bellebaby]

My mother has Plan F Medigap. It pays as follows:

 

80 percent coverage for medically necessary emergency care in a foreign country, after a $250 deductible.

 

However, I always purchase travel insurance for her, just for peace of mind.

 

B

[ocngypz]

My mother has Plan F Medigap. It pays as follows:

 

80 percent coverage for medically necessary emergency care in a foreign country, after a $250 deductible.

 

However, I always purchase travel insurance for her, just for peace of mind.

 

B

 

But does it pay to get her back home again??

[surfklutz]

But does it pay to get her back home again??

 

No - it won't

[plh]

Ok, sorry but I have come across another question. I have heard so many people say not to buy your travel policy through the cruise line or travel agent. I usually get the Travelex policy online. But my in-laws got a quote of $90 for the both of them for a Leisure Care policy through the travel agent. I read the policy online and figured out it was secondary coverage, which is not good. However, since there is no other collectable group policy in effect (since Medicare does not cover them out of the country) I'm wondering if that really is a problem. The company is rated A versus A+ for the company underwriting the Travelex policy. The same policy through Travelex is more than double. Feels like I'm missing something.

Paul

[bellebaby]

No, the Medigap policy will not pay for evacuation coverage nor will it pay for care onboard the ship. As I said previously, I always purchase additional coverage. It's a small price to pay for full medical coverage as well as cancellation coverage.

 

B

[DesrtDrmr]

plh, please check out the Princess and Princess Gold coverage. The companies at InsureMyTrip.com cover people by their age............Princess insurance covers by the cost of the trip. It was MUCH less expensive to get my Mom, who was aged 85 at the time, insurance through Princess, while mine was less expensive through a company at InsureMyTrip............. Our coverage was very similar, except Princess would give a large percentage credit toward another cruise if one cancelled for a non covered reason.

[montgomeryfamily]

Just be aware that Princess Travel Care and Gold Travel Care does not have a waiver of pre-existing conditions, no matter how soon after booking you purchase the coverage. There is a look back period of 60 days as of the date the insurance is purchased.

 

While there is no pre-existing condition associated with the Princess Travel Care cancel for any reason coverage, it is only for cancellation and doesn't include medical care expenses incurred on the trip. (Plus it only gives a refund in the form of a cruise credit of 75% (standard Travel Care) or 90% (Gold).

 

In addition, the medical coverage is secondary, so you have to pay first and file for reimbursement. The amount of medical coverage for the standard policy is only $10,000.

 

These are some of the reasons I purchase independent travel medical insurance which has waivers of pre-existing conditions and larger amounts of coverage.

[montgomeryfamily]

There is also some annual travel medical insurance policies which offer evacuation and medical coverage for all trips taken during the year (and waive pre-existing conditions). For people that go on two or three trips per year, this can be an economical choice.

 

To clarify, these only cover medical related expenses on the trip and not cancellation.