Medical Emergency Without Insurance: Article about Independence of the Seas

[reallyitsmema]

9 minutes ago, JustinandMaria said:

They could have handled it better by not presenting the bill to someone who is being emergency evacuated off the ship. Poor taste IMO. What would they have done if they didn’t have funds?  Frankly any approval of amounts I would think would be in duress.  They wouldn’t be in the right mind. 

 

If there account was secured with a credit card that had a limit that would cover the charges, the ship would have just charged that card.  Per your cruise contract, you owe your balance when you leave the ship, if they just let them leave without making arrangements to pay, there is a good chance they would never see the money.  If you can't pay a large bill, they will make you sign a promissory note.

[BirdTravels]

3 hours ago, JustinandMaria said:

Wow.  Poor guy.  Most kids his age don’t get travel insurance. And as the article mentioned easily missed as it was a gift.  He wouldn’t have had credit card insurance since he didn’t book the trip.  RCCL could have handled a bit better IMO. 

 

Everyone books their trip. If you get a free cruise, you still need to make the booking using your certificate and put down a credit card to pay for taxes and fees. 

 

And how could have RCCL handled it better??? All they did is collect [very little] money for service rendered. If I went to the Emergency Department in my local hospital for a similar event, I would expect to pay $10K+. 

 

Now, obviously, after 2 years, the couple has decided to make some money selling an embellished sad story to the media. So, the story has to "sound good" if they are going to make money on it, so the "truth" may be a lot different that what the reporter wrote. And they are hoping that their one little article gets traction so that they can make money on national news or to bolster yet another ***** page. This is not reporting on something that happened last month. 

[orville99]

3 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

And they are hoping that their one little article gets traction so that they can make money

There is a fool born every minute, and unfortunately most of them have a social media site, because fools love company🙄

[swoopy2110]

3 hours ago, FamilyCruiserUK said:

Not having medical travel insurance is an american thing. For us brits i would say 99% of people get travel insurance. Even though the vast majority will not use it for the sake of coverage its worth it. My travel insurance for a family of three is £158 a year and covers medical cost of £2 million GBP. I also do NOT need to pay up front. the insurance pays as long as you contact them at the time and they authorise paying for the treatment. 

I'd be interested to know what RCI would do if our UK Insurers promised to pay them via the phone.

The only incident I've had with the medical facility is that my girlfriend became unwell about 5 years ago onboard (continuous vomiting / faint). Needed an IV and monitoring for an hour or so. Then felt better. Bill was around $900. It was charged to my card and I claimed back from the insurance once we got back to the UK.

 

In a scenario of thousands of $$$ I'd like to know if they'd accept a UK insurer paying them remotely.

[Mum2Mercury]

9 minutes ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

If there account was secured with a credit card that had a limit that would cover the charges, the ship would have just charged that card.  Per your cruise contract, you owe your balance when you leave the ship, if they just let them leave without making arrangements to pay, there is a good chance they would never see the money.  If you can't pay a large bill, they will make you sign a promissory note.

That's just business.  

5 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

so the "truth" may be a lot different that what the reporter wrote. And they are hoping that their one little article gets traction so that they can make money on national news or to bolster yet another ***** page. This is not reporting on something that happened last month. 

That's true.  We say jokingly in our house, "They can't put it on the internet if it's not true!" but we all know better than to believe everything we read.  

[swoopy2110]

5 minutes ago, orville99 said:

There is a fool born every minute, and unfortunately most of them have a social media site, because fools love company🙄

It's the modern way. I don't take my own precautions so I start a go fund me and get the public to feel sorry for me.

Edited May 22 by swoopy2110

[ONECRUISER]

2 hours ago, brillohead said:

"He took medicine initially, but after two years without another seizure, he said his doctors took him off the medicine to avoid liver damage."

 

 

Gee, did it maybe occur to anyone that he didn't have any more seizures during that period of time BECAUSE HE WAS TAKING SEIZURE MEDICATION during that period of time????

🙄 🙄 🙄

 

 

Was in a bad accident few yrs ago, had 4 Kids in Car with me, not scratch on them, me it was another story. After a yr of treatment inc Physical Therapy, Nerve Burns, ect decided was time to have another Surgery, multilevel C-Spine Fusion. There is less then 3% chance Death or Paralysis and lucky have an Experienced Neurosurgeon with him trying to put my worries at ease. He said, "In 36 years I've never had anyone experience any serious negative issues with this Surgery" ...all I could think of was, May the Odds be Ever in your Favor, statistically he's due. 

 

42 minutes ago, time4u2go said:

One should also consider what their existing medical insurance and credit card protections cover in regards to medical expenses while traveling when deciding whether or not to buy travel insurance.  I suspect that many don't consider this.

 

Yes, good to know all the Benefits a Credit Card purchase covers and what Primary Insurance would cover while Traveling. Me, with Auto Insurance always carry Max, 500K/500K/1 Million as always have 1-4 Grand Daughters in Car with me, at times 8 of us. 

[mjkacmom]

40 minutes ago, JustinandMaria said:

They could have handled it better by not presenting the bill to someone who is being emergency evacuated off the ship. Poor taste IMO. What would they have done if they didn’t have funds?  Frankly any approval of amounts I would think would be in duress.  They wouldn’t be in the right mind. 

The medical center is a third party vendor, they want to get paid. If they got spa treatment instead would those be forgiven too? 

[JustinandMaria]

12 minutes ago, mjkacmom said:

The medical center is a third party vendor, they want to get paid. If they got spa treatment instead would those be forgiven too? 

No one is saying it should be forgiven.  It was a reasonable charge. Its an emergency.    I would think the reason for the article was to educate others.  

[PhillyFan33579]

1 hour ago, JustinandMaria said:

They could have handled it better by not presenting the bill to someone who is being emergency evacuated off the ship. Poor taste IMO. What would they have done if they didn’t have funds?  Frankly any approval of amounts I would think would be in duress.  They wouldn’t be in the right mind. 

You seem to be forgetting RCI is a for profit business. They are not in business to provide services for free, including potentially life saving medical services. Like I said previously, this is 100 percent on the couple who are now apparently looking for sympathy and most likely financial gain due to their ignorance. I also find it hard to believe any legitimate doctor but would tell their patient to stop taking anti seizure medication, which was working well according to the article. 

[ONECRUISER]

42 minutes ago, mjkacmom said:

The medical center is a third party vendor, they want to get paid. If they got spa treatment instead would those be forgiven too? 

I knew it was 3rd Party decades ago but wasnt sure now. Thanks for info

[ONECRUISER]

26 minutes ago, JustinandMaria said:

No one is saying it should be forgiven.  It was a reasonable charge. Its an emergency.    I would think the reason for the article was to educate others.  

Been long time but saw a couple taken off in handcuffs by Sheriff Deputies, they ran up over $10K in charges and didnt pay, but this was 3 decades ago. Then another couple they owed $900 they couldnt pay and Royal made them sign an IOU to pay within 10days. That one was about 18yrs ago. Neither these were Medical expenses though. 

[Mum2Mercury]

1 hour ago, JustinandMaria said:

No one is saying it should be forgiven.  It was a reasonable charge. Its an emergency.    I would think the reason for the article was to educate others.  

Respectfully, I don't think that was the article's point; rather, I think they were hoping for handouts.  

[Ourusualbeach]

3 hours ago, la_croisiere_s'amuse said:

Bingo. When people ask me my thoughts on travel insurance vs. "self-insuring," I typically say it depends ... would an unexpected $10k bill ruin your day, or ruin your life? Everybody has different thresholds for risk tolerance, and I respect that, but you have to think through the consequences. 

I have no issues with self insuring the trip.  That is a fixed amount and won't change and I will take that risk.  What I will never do is self insure medical as there is no upper limit on what the potential cost could be. 

[gavvy]

2 hours ago, swoopy2110 said:

I'd be interested to know what RCI would do if our UK Insurers promised to pay them via the phone.

The only incident I've had with the medical facility is that my girlfriend became unwell about 5 years ago onboard (continuous vomiting / faint). Needed an IV and monitoring for an hour or so. Then felt better. Bill was around $900. It was charged to my card and I claimed back from the insurance once we got back to the UK.

 

In a scenario of thousands of $$$ I'd like to know if they'd accept a UK insurer paying them remotely.

 

 

I know most UK underwriters would expect you to contact them upfront if the invoice is over a certain amount normally £500 so they can pre authorise treatment.  They can refuse to pay if you don't do it as soon as possible.  I'd assume the ship would let you call them for free.

 

RCL gives the impression to me to patch you up and get you off the ship ASAP, so I'd think it is unlikely you would run up tens of thousands with them, but that's a guess.

[Starry Eyes]

2 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

I have no issues with self insuring the trip.  That is a fixed amount and won't change and I will take that risk.  What I will never do is self insure medical as there is no upper limit on what the potential cost could be. 

That’s how I feel as well.  
The medical coverage and med evac limits on many travel insurance policies are way too skimpy for my tastes.  While having $25,000 in medical coverage (Royal plan limit) is far better than none, it still won’t cover a the medical expenses from a really serious accident or illness.

[Tree_skier]

2 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

I have no issues with self insuring the trip.  That is a fixed amount and won't change and I will take that risk.  What I will never do is self insure medical as there is no upper limit on what the potential cost could be. 

We got Allianz’s annual plan. It provides a little bit of coverage for the trip. I’ll self insure the balance. Where it really shines is the medical side. 

Edited May 22 by Tree_skier

[Tree_skier]

2 hours ago, gavvy said:

 

 

I know most UK underwriters would expect you to contact them upfront if the invoice is over a certain amount normally £500 so they can pre authorise treatment.  They can refuse to pay if you don't do it as soon as possible.  I'd assume the ship would let you call them for free.

 

RCL gives the impression to me to patch you up and get you off the ship ASAP, so I'd think it is unlikely you would run up tens of thousands with them, but that's a guess.

We had a situation with my daughter on our December Harmony cruise. The ship board medical costs were a hair under $3000. It can add u pretty quick. Had the ship had to divert to evacuate her I imagine that cost would have been added to the bill. I can’t imagine what that would cost. 

[reallyitsmema]

2 hours ago, gavvy said:

 

 

I know most UK underwriters would expect you to contact them upfront if the invoice is over a certain amount normally £500 so they can pre authorise treatment.  They can refuse to pay if you don't do it as soon as possible.  I'd assume the ship would let you call them for free.

 

RCL gives the impression to me to patch you up and get you off the ship ASAP, so I'd think it is unlikely you would run up tens of thousands with them, but that's a guess.

 

My cruise last week had five ambulances meet us at our ports to take people off, two calls for blood donors for transfusions and a medevac of one of the transfused people at midnight off of Turks and Caicos.  I can only image what expenses were incurred on the ship before they were evacuated.

[grandgeezer]

6 hours ago, la_croisiere_s'amuse said:

Bingo. When people ask me my thoughts on travel insurance vs. "self-insuring," I typically say it depends ... would an unexpected $10k bill ruin your day, or ruin your life? Everybody has different thresholds for risk tolerance, and I respect that, but you have to think through the consequences. 

When we started cruising in 2003, we made a conscious decision to self insure, both travel and medical. We were both in excellent health and the finances to do so, and we felt lucky. We ended up with 47 cruises and 494 days at sea. We also had to fly to and from the ports. The $10k bill mentioned would hurt a little bit but wouldn’t change our lifestyle on iota. The money saved was invested and grew like weeds. 
I’m guessing the actual savings, plus the growth from investing it makes the $10k look like chump change.

 

[JustinandMaria]

3 hours ago, Mum2Mercury said:

Respectfully, I don't think that was the article's point; rather, I think they were hoping for handouts.  

Since epilepsy qualifies for disability Im very thankful he’s out there working and looking for a better life. Or he could declare bankruptcy.  While he may not gotten the trip insurance right I applaud him for trying to do the right thing, trying to pay the bill.  

[JustinandMaria]

4 hours ago, ONECRUISER said:

Been long time but saw a couple taken off in handcuffs by Sheriff Deputies, they ran up over $10K in charges and didnt pay, but this was 3 decades ago. Then another couple they owed $900 they couldnt pay and Royal made them sign an IOU to pay within 10days. That one was about 18yrs ago. Neither these were Medical expenses though. 

You got me curious so I see they sometimes hold on to luggage as well as the IOU.  And that would be more reasonable to me to have them sign something acknowledging they are leaving before final bill is settled than asking a man who stopped breathing (?) to settle his account.  I hate to see how they presented a bill to the family whose daughter fell off the ship.  Some compassion is all Im saying while still retaining the right to collect.  

[JustinandMaria]

Here’s another example how quickly the cost can increase.  https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/investigations/10-investigates/cruise-infirmary-treatment-costs-couple-28000-travel-insurance/67-a5998cb0-07f8-4069-afe8-12b71ef7a6ed

[Starry Eyes]

2 hours ago, grandgeezer said:

When we started cruising in 2003, we made a conscious decision to self insure, both travel and medical. We were both in excellent health and the finances to do so, and we felt lucky. We ended up with 47 cruises and 494 days at sea. We also had to fly to and from the ports. The $10k bill mentioned would hurt a little bit but wouldn’t change our lifestyle on iota. The money saved was invested and grew like weeds. 
I’m guessing the actual savings, plus the growth from investing it makes the $10k look like chump change.

 

I’m glad neither of you ever had a serious medical issue during your cruising years.   Between medical expenses and medical transport back to your own country, such an event can cost far, far more than $10k.  

 

 

[Mikew0805]

11 hours ago, brillohead said:

Gee, did it maybe occur to anyone that he didn't have any more seizures during that period of time BECAUSE HE WAS TAKING SEIZURE MEDICATION during that period of time????

🙄 🙄 🙄

 

HAHAHA I am very familiar with situations like this. FFS!