Coverage for onboard medical services

[Cruise till you drop]

I have heard the advantage of booking insurance with the cruise line is that onboard medical services are covered and you don’t see a bill.

 

I think 3rd party insurance would cover such medical expenses however will have to pay the bill to the cruise line and then submit to the 3rd party insurer for reimbursement 

 

Please let me know if I’m understanding this correctly

 

Thanks

 

[InsureMyTrip]

You would need to check with the cruise line/insurance provider to confirm this I the process for using medical coverage.

As for third party insurance plans, you would probably have to pay out of pocket for smaller expenses that may be incurred, but in the event of a larger issue, you would want to contact the provider’s emergency assistance line as there may be some options for medical referrals and direct payment in some cases if it can be arranged.
 

[BridgeMates]

On 1/25/2024 at 12:06 PM, Cruise till you drop said:

I have heard the advantage of booking insurance with the cruise line is that onboard medical services are covered and you don’t see a bill.

 

I think 3rd party insurance would cover such medical expenses however will have to pay the bill to the cruise line and then submit to the 3rd party insurer for reimbursement 

 

Please let me know if I’m understanding this correctly

 

Thanks

 

Just for info....We were on a Celebrity cruise in November with 4 other people.  All of us had the cruise line insurance.    One woman in the group fell on the "step-up" into the bathroom and had to have stitches.  Apparently since it was an accident on the ship, there was no bill at the end of the cruise. 

However, another friend had a concern that he thought could be heart related so he went to the Med Ctr and spent about 3 hours there.  His bill was over $600.  He was required to submit through the cruise insurance, which requires he send everything to Medicare first, and then to his supplement.   He was told Medicare could take up to 6 weeks to complete their review.  Then he'll submit his claim to BC/BS before the cruise insurance pays.   It's a lengthy process.  

[GeezerCouple]

38 minutes ago, BridgeMates said:

Just for info....We were on a Celebrity cruise in November with 4 other people.  All of us had the cruise line insurance.    One woman in the group fell on the "step-up" into the bathroom and had to have stitches.  Apparently since it was an accident on the ship, there was no bill at the end of the cruise. 

However, another friend had a concern that he thought could be heart related so he went to the Med Ctr and spent about 3 hours there.  His bill was over $600.  He was required to submit through the cruise insurance, which requires he send everything to Medicare first, and then to his supplement.   He was told Medicare could take up to 6 weeks to complete their review.  Then he'll submit his claim to BC/BS before the cruise insurance pays.   It's a lengthy process.  

 

BridgeMates brings up something that could be VERY important if it's a big medical bill, and this is regardless of whether it's from the ship's medical center or a hospital in a foreign country.

 

Many travel insurance policies are what's known as "secondary".

That means that one must *first* submit to any other possible insurers (e.g., Medicare, one's own employer-based medical insurance, etc.).  Then the "secondary" insurer will pay whatever the other insurer(s) did *not* pay.

The way to avoid this is to get travel insurance that is "primary".

That means that it will pay "first", and no denials from other insurers are needed, even if they would have paid/paid first.  (Or one could still only send to the travel insurer whatever other insurance didn't pay.... but... why!?)

Some travel insurance policies are automatically "primary".  For those that default to "secondary", one can sometimes pay a bit extra (not necessarily much at all) and have that same policy become primary.  (This is what we do, and it's not at all expensive, but one needs to think about this and remember, or have a travel insurance agent/broker remind one, and make sure it's primary coverage.)

 

Anyway, this could make a major difference IF it's a very $$$$ expense, given that with travel insurance, one must usually pay the entire bill out of pocket, and then get reimbursed later. This is when one probably would NOT want to have "secondary" coverage and thus need to wait weeks or months (!) for the claim submission to another insurer simply to get the *denial*... and then finally submit the claim to the travel insurer.  And then, some travel insurers pay quickly (ours does), and... some don't...

 

Note that some travel insurers can/will make arrangements with the medical provider to guarantee payment or to actually wire some (or all) of the charges so that the traveler/patient does *not* need to fork out the money if it's a very expensive bill.

 

There was one hospital ER billing office (obviously in a very "touristy" area 😉 ) that had a sign on the wall that said something like: 

"We only accept travel insurance guarantees from the following insurance companies..."  and there was a list of several of the major insurers.  Possibly the hospital would try to work with other insurers for guarantees, or perhaps manage to get the money wired.

This is something to think about given that in non-USA hospitals, there is no requirement that they provide you with initial emergency care without regard to ability to pay.  Some hospitals will require a very large up front payment, sometimes before even *starting* to treat you.  And other overseas hospitals in certain countries won't charge you a cent for whatever treatment you need!

 

Anyway, we travel with several charge cards with quite a large combined credit limit, just in case.

 

GC

[klfrodo]

As Bridgemates indicates, if the injury or illness can somehow be related to ship operations, Norovirus, slip and fall injury, etc. the ship will most likely just absorb the cost of medical treatment. For other medical needs not related to ship operations, the medical operations will bill directly to your on board account.

[Cruise till you drop]

So is InsureMyTrip insurance Primary or Secondary ?

[GeezerCouple]

1 hour ago, Cruise till you drop said:

So is InsureMyTrip insurance Primary or Secondary ?

 

It's likely going to depend upon which specific policy you get.

And it might also depend upon which is your state of residence.  Insurance is regulated by the states, and what is allowed in one state may not be allowed in a different state.

 

So *always* make sure you are asking about - and preferably *looking* at - your specific policy.

 

ETA:  If you are going to purchase your travel insurance through Insure My Trip, then you should call them to discuss what is the best policy for your specific needs.

 

GC

Edited January 27 by GeezerCouple