news story about a drunk and travel insurance

[muttley]

http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2006/04/25/mexico-insurance060425.html

 

i had no idea a travel insurance company can refuse a claim because drinking may have contributed to or caused a persons injury.

[Adam185]

Our travel insurance states that is doesn't cover any losses while under the influence of drugs or intoxicants (unless prescribed by a doctor).

 

That is why I always have my doc prescribed me some good drugs and a tasty beverage. JK of course.

[GoinCruisin]

http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2006/04/25/mexico-insurance060425.html

 

i had no idea a travel insurance company can refuse a claim because drinking may have contributed to or caused a persons injury.

 

Most policies have that stipulation... I haven't seen any that didn't.

[Ceedeejai]

That is really sad, when you think of all the immigrants who come to America (including Canada), not only from Mexico, but from several countries for "extended vacations" and receive free medical treatment at the cost of taxpayers - seems like the Mexican authorities would practice some goodwill and at least treat this young man for his injuries and send him home. Whatever happened to the "Hippocratic Oath"?

[June Bug]

we cover everyone's medical costs BUT the ones that have insurance!!;)

(thanks to HMO's):rolleyes:

[mrdood]

Most insurance has clauses that exclude stupidity... which pretty much takes care of anything you do during drinking.

[hdawson]

I've often posted, buy coverage not cheap premiums and read the coverage before buying.

[dan40]

If you read your own auto insurance policy, it too, will not cover you if you're DWI. Also life insurance won't cover you if your death is caused by your own stupidity with alcohol. Insurance companies still [and will always] believe in personable responsibility and will go to court for that belief.

 

Dan

[Capsu78]

It's "Travel Insurance", not "Stupid Insurance"... You wouldn't want to pay the premiums on the latter.

[wanman]

Insurance companies still [and will always] believe in personable responsibility and will go to court for that belief.

 

Dan

 

Personable responsibility.... what a concept. :eek:

[auburn77]

If you read your own auto insurance policy, it too, will not cover you if you're DWI. Also life insurance won't cover you if your death is caused by your own stupidity with alcohol. Insurance companies still [and will always] believe in personable responsibility and will go to court for that belief.

 

Dan

 

There may be a handful of auto insurance companies that will not cover you in this situation(and you agree to it when applying), but most have no such exclusion(they will cancel you afterwards). As for life insurance, I have never seen this exclusion.

 

(Twenty nine years in the business.)

[Hebejeebe]

In the US you will receive emergency care at a US Hospital regardless of whether you have insurance. Mexicans travelling in the US would have their bones set and brain scanned for internal injuries. I don't know how it works in Canada but at least with our insurance system here they will pay for emergency care abroad (not airvac back to the US). Sad story for that Canadian.

[Ceedeejai]

I can understand them not paying to have him air vaced (sp?) home, but to treat his very serious injuries with painkillers and bandages is almost inhuman in my opinion. Couldn't they treat him and bill his family at a later date? I am not in the health care industry, but have friends and family who are, and I would hope they would have more compassion for an injured person, irregardless of how the injuries were sustained. I guess I hold the health care industry in higher regard than the insurance industry.

[hdawson]

Hebejeebe. Some health plans do not cover it's subscribers outstide the US, especially US Social Security Medicare. Foreign medical suppliers usually require payment at the time of service provided. They generally do not accept US medical insurance assignments. Imagine the collection process from a foreign country. Like every cruise, when I visit Mexico, I always have insurance even though it is for reimbursement.

[Ceedeejai]

What I believe hdawson is trying to say is that, whether you have insurance or not, a visitor travelling inthe U.S. would be granted emergency medical care by a hospital irregardless of insurance.

[Ceedeejai]

What I believe HEBEJEBEE (not HDawson) is trying to say .....

[Karried]

I was listening to a talk radio show just recently and the reporter was becoming really upset and animated over a story regarding Mexico travel. He started telling the story of one of his best friends who took a trip South of Baja last year with his family.

 

He ended up in a horrible car accident on the last day of their trip .. he was in incredible pain but they wouldn't treat him or even release him because he didn't pay the 'extortion' cost the doctor was demanding. His wife called the states and tried to get money wired. Apparently, he was in a crash with an official who wouldn't let him leave until he paid for his car.

 

His wife and four small children sat on the concrete floor next to him while he died strapped to a door.

 

The reporter (dj) was so upset after retelling the story of his friend. It was horrible. It really does make me worry when I hear stories like this.

 

A few years back, a person we met while traveling in Puerto Vallarte got gored by a Boar in Mesmaloya.. he had to be air lifted.. I don't remember if he had insurance. I never knew about the alcohol clause..

 

Here's a what if.. what if you have ONE drink and get injured.. will they cover you or are we talking extremely drunk - (drunk enough to fall off balconies apparently).

[salty dingo]

I imagine you are still covered if you drink, but not covered if you drink so much you fall off a balcony (or into the sea.)

 

Totally preventable accidents, so insurance is really not the issue.

[redskin80]

What I believe hdawson is trying to say is that, whether you have insurance or not, a visitor travelling inthe U.S. would be granted emergency medical care by a hospital irregardless of insurance.

 

Ok look at what you said :

 

Traveling in the US. you would be granted medical care.

 

The man is in MEXICO. We do treat everybody, regardless if they can pay or not. Why do you think we pay such HIGH costs for our medical insurance in the US. Also why doi you think so many are coming to this country because we will pay for these medical costs.

 

I am sorry this young man is in pain and suffering, and cannot get help.

[bajohnsons]

I can't believe the model health care system in Canada won't cover his costs. Imagine that.:rolleyes:

[momofmeg]

http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2006/04/25/mexico-insurance060425.html

 

i had no idea a travel insurance company can refuse a claim because drinking may have contributed to or caused a persons injury.

 

It doesn't surprise me. Most health insurance and life insurance will not cover accidents from bungie jumping and sky diving. If you do a "high rish" type sport you are on your own.

[momofmeg]

we cover everyone's medical costs BUT the ones that have insurance!!;)

(thanks to HMO's):rolleyes:

 

Not true! If you are a middle class american without health insurance you are up a creek.

 

Kind of sad-if you are hardworking and do the best you can and can't afford insurance-too bad. You wages have to be at poverty level for you to quality for Medicaid.

 

Poverty level is around $10,000 a year for a person-where I live. so if you make $15,000 a year and have no dependants-and your employer doe snot offer you insurance or it they do it si like $300 a month which is like a third of your paycheck-too bad.

 

Unfortunately many people fall through the cracks -they don't make alot of money-but they are makle slightly above "poverty level"-and there are no government programs for them.

[Karried]

A little off topic but I can relate so much to health insurance issues. My family of four was about $700. month for traditional ins.

 

I found one for $250 month and signed up for a HSA plan.. (tax free savings plan) the deductible is high and not great prescription coverage but it covers major medical (surgery, emergency, major illness - cancer etc) and that's all I really need. Golden Rule is who I picked.. good rating.

 

I upped the Medical on our auto insurance as well in case of auto accident.

 

I hope this might help someone who thinks they can't afford insurance. It gives me a peace of mind and I feel better knowing if something horrible happens, we won't be bankrupt for life.

[Donna n Francis]

Here is an article in todays Provincial Newspaper.....I too find this very inhumane(sp).....believe me we don't treat our animals like this here and I am sure that had this happened in Canada with a Mexican being injured in the same way that we would have taken care of them!

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Victim of fall to be flown home

 

By KELLY SHIERS Staff Reporter

 

A Cape Breton woman expected her badly injured son to be flown back to Edmonton on Tuesday, almost a week after surviving a fall from a sixth-floor balcony at a Mexican tourist resort.

"I spoke to him last night," Carol Campbell said in a telephone interview from Sydney.

"He’s scared. He’s scared he’s not going to walk anymore and he’s only 25 years old. I just told him he would. That’s what I was doing. . . . I pray to God he will."

Jason Campbell, who has lived in Alberta for almost four years, had just arrived in Mexico for a vacation with his cousin and a friend when he fell April 19.

He suffered internal injuries, his brain began to swell and his pelvis and both legs were broken. It’s believed he cannot move his legs.

His travel insurance didn’t cover the costs of his hospital stay because he had been drinking at the time of the accident, his mother said.

Her son — an oil rig worker — didn’t have other insurance because he was unemployed at the time, she said.

"Anybody that’s going away to a place like that, make sure you’ve got real good (health) coverage," she said, adding she doesn’t believe people know that their insurance may no longer cover them if they are injured while drinking alcohol.

Her warning was echoed by a consumer services officer with General Insurance OmbudService, a national organization that mediates complaints with insurance companies.

"It is a common exclusion; that’s my understanding," said Peter Boos.

"You have to use proper care of yourself. All policies now, for different types of coverages, are wanting you to accept responsibility for your actions, and if you show disregard for yourself, that can limit or void coverage," he said.

Jason was transferred from one hospital to another in Puerto Vallarta. Ms. Campbell said he was treated only with pain medication and antibiotics.

Nothing was done for his broken bones because, without insurance, he didn’t have enough cash to pay the mounting bills — which could be as much as $50,000, including the cost of getting him flown home to Alberta, she said.

"It’ll be a week (Wednesday) he was laying there. I can’t believe it," she said. "They wouldn’t do that to a cat or dog — leave a person like that."

Friends in Lloydminster, where he now lives, set up a trust fund and quickly began sending cash to the hospital. Jason had to sign a form before he left the hospital promising to pay what’s owing on the bill, his mother said.

Ms. Campbell said she’ll see her son in Edmonton on Monday. She’s flying there with an airline ticket that was donated to her by a Lloydminster woman she’s never met.

She hopes doctors there will have operated on him by that time.

Ms. Campbell said anyone who wants to help Jason can make a donation through any branch of the Royal Bank. The trust fund account number is 5112966 at Royal Bank branch 04238.

[Ceedeejai]

Ok look at what you said :

 

Traveling in the US. you would be granted medical care.

 

The man is in MEXICO. We do treat everybody, regardless if they can pay or not. Why do you think we pay such HIGH costs for our medical insurance in the US. Also why doi you think so many are coming to this country because we will pay for these medical costs.

 

I am sorry this young man is in pain and suffering, and cannot get help.

 

Kindly remember, this young man was on holiday in Mexico, not as an illegal citizen. He was there contibuting to the vacation industry. I am sure the Mexican travel industry took his Canadian dollars happily. I understand the health care issues we have here in the U.S. and I suppose in Canada as well and the relative rising costs. What I don't understand is how nurses, doctors, surgeons and other health care professionals could allow this human to suffer. He had an ACCIDENT -- he was on holiday with his buddies, doing what young men do. Maybe he did have too much to drink, but it was what it was, an accident. Would it have been any different if he had been an intoxicated passenger in a vehicle -- with a sober designated driver? What would be the explanation then for denying him care?