$1100 Infirmary Bill!!!!!

[susandances]

Just returned from Majesty of the Seas. My 10 year old son became ill with nausea, vomiting, severe stomach pain, and fever. I brought him to the infirmary b/c he couldn't get out of bed. They gave him IV fluids and ran several blood tests. They could not come up with a diagnosis (they thought that it was appendicitis) and insisted that I go to the ER in Key West or I couldn't return to the ship. While at the ER, they said that he had the stomach virus. Now I have a bill for $1100. Has anyone had any experience with this kind of thing? Will my medical insurance cover this?

[tracysue]

we had my daughter split her foot open on one of the glass doors on the ship, and insurance covered everything, no problems......they (insurance) were very good..... so, depending on your insurance..... but I would think it is all good.....:) hope your son is ok......

[whyrlygig]

My medical insurance covered my bill 80/20. It would also be covered by your travel insurance. Glad to hear he is OK.

[fifty]

I had an attack of Tachycardia (none life-threatening) and went in to RCCL infirmary. Two giant German nurses could not find a vein and it was NOT a pleasant experience. My bill was near $1000 and needless to say, it cut into my spending funds a bit.

 

The good news is that Blue Cross did reimburse me so SAVE all your receipts from the ship, etc and file as soon as you get home. Call to be sure that your insurance will reimburse and what the procedure is for your specific company.

 

Sorry for your son's illness. Glad it was not appendix!! Good luck.

[lucky99]

Just returned from Majesty of the Seas. My 10 year old son became ill with nausea, vomiting, severe stomach pain, and fever. I brought him to the infirmary b/c he couldn't get out of bed. They gave him IV fluids and ran several blood tests. They could not come up with a diagnosis (they thought that it was appendicitis) and insisted that I go to the ER in Key West or I couldn't return to the ship. While at the ER, they said that he had the stomach virus. Now I have a bill for $1100. Has anyone had any experience with this kind of thing? Will my medical insurance cover this?

 

WOW.....of course it was worth it but I would not only call my medical insurance people but if you booked your cruise with your VISA card someone from one of my cards told me one time there is all sorts of travel insurance with them. Probably not what you need but the worse they can say is no.

[aqhacruiser]

Just returned from Majesty of the Seas. My 10 year old son became ill with nausea, vomiting, severe stomach pain, and fever. I brought him to the infirmary b/c he couldn't get out of bed. They gave him IV fluids and ran several blood tests. They could not come up with a diagnosis (they thought that it was appendicitis) and insisted that I go to the ER in Key West or I couldn't return to the ship. While at the ER, they said that he had the stomach virus. Now I have a bill for $1100. Has anyone had any experience with this kind of thing? Will my medical insurance cover this?

 

It all depends on the insurance you have. If you had travel insurance such as Cruise Care it would cover it and pay for it or pay the part your health insurance doesn't cover. There are too many types of insurance to say for sure so call your insurance company in the morning. Hope it works out for you and glad to hear your son will be ok:)

[bktx1]

My wife cut her head open in the departure lounge of HAL several years ago. The infirmary did a great job treating her, and insurance covered it.

 

Make sure to call your insurance ASAP to get the emergency situation certified, or you could possibly have some insurance hassles later.

[Mark_K]

Just returned from Majesty of the Seas. My 10 year old son became ill with nausea, vomiting, severe stomach pain, and fever. I brought him to the infirmary b/c he couldn't get out of bed. They gave him IV fluids and ran several blood tests. They could not come up with a diagnosis (they thought that it was appendicitis) and insisted that I go to the ER in Key West or I couldn't return to the ship. While at the ER, they said that he had the stomach virus. Now I have a bill for $1100. Has anyone had any experience with this kind of thing? Will my medical insurance cover this?

You're asking the wrong people if your medical insurance will cover it, you need to ask your insurance company. Depending on your policy, the answer is somewhere between No, not a cent and Yes, it's completely covered.

 

For me, since it's out of network, it would be $100 deductible, then it would pay 80%, but that is only reasonable & customary, and I doubt the cruise line is either, so at a guess, I'd say I would end up paying about half.

[kingsgirl]

Just returned from Majesty of the Seas. My 10 year old son became ill with nausea, vomiting, severe stomach pain, and fever. I brought him to the infirmary b/c he couldn't get out of bed. They gave him IV fluids and ran several blood tests. They could not come up with a diagnosis (they thought that it was appendicitis) and insisted that I go to the ER in Key West or I couldn't return to the ship. While at the ER, they said that he had the stomach virus. Now I have a bill for $1100. Has anyone had any experience with this kind of thing? Will my medical insurance cover this?

 

The exact same thing happened to my friends husband on their honeymoon. Be thankful you went on a short cruise. They were on the 11-Night Southern Caribbean on Empress when he got sick. Their bills were around the same for the IV fluids and tests. Their trip insurance paid for it PLUS any interest that accured on their credit cards while waiting for it to be paid off.

 

But like other people said everyone's insurance is different. My friends had RBC (Royal Bank of Canada) Insurance

[aqhacruiser]

I had an attack of Tachycardia (none life-threatening) and went in to RCCL infirmary. Two giant German nurses could not find a vein and it was NOT a pleasant experience. My bill was near $1000 and needless to say, it cut into my spending funds a bit.

 

The good news is that Blue Cross did reimburse me so SAVE all your receipts from the ship, etc and file as soon as you get home. Call to be sure that your insurance will reimburse and what the procedure is for your specific company.

 

Sorry for your son's illness. Glad it was not appendix!! Good luck.

 

Blue Cross is usually pretty good about covering out of country but there are many different Blues today and they all have different benefits depending on the plan you have and the state you have. No matter what insurance someone has it's good advice like you said to save all receipts and paperwork as every insurance company is going to want them:)

[Sea Island Lady]

Sounds like you got lucky!

 

Lucky because you were not out at sea and had to have your son med-vac'd out to a hospital.:eek: That would have been 25,000 and up! Consider yourself lucky indeed!

 

Did you have trip insurance, or are you asking if your family medical insurance plan will cover the cost? If the latter, you will probably not be covered for ship expenses because once you hit the high seas, you are considered out of the states. However, considering that you went to a US based hospital, your hospitalization cost should be covered by your medical insurance.

 

PS - We have BlueCross/BlueShield and it would not cover me. I also have a VISA card and only certain levels of cards offer the trip insurance.

[susandances]

Thanks for all of the replies! We have Anthem Blue Cross and I am in the process of filing my claim. From what it looks like, my insurance will cover most of it. I also have money in a flexible account. I was just wondering what anyone else had done in this situation.

 

Thanks for the well wishes! My son is fine and, all in all, the cruise was excellent (minus the infirmary and no Coco Cay stop).

[lady_cruiser]

Here is another reason why if is a good idea to invest about $100 plus to buy full coverage travel insurance.

 

Sorry your son had to get sick on his cruise but I am glad that everything turned out OK and he did not need emergency surgery.

[TahoeBob]

Two giant German nurses could not find a vein and it was NOT a pleasant experience.

 

Könnten Sie bitte definieren, was du meinst von zwei gigantischen deutschen Krankenschwestern?:D

[acc82]

i know this is gonna sound bad, but my first thought after hearing about the bill (which i'm sure will be taken care of by travel insurance, or your pirmary medical insurance - and may i add, those flex. spending accounts are heaven sent!!!) was that thank goodness that you could stop in key west and go to the hospital being that key west is still in the US! that's great since us hospitals are regulated by JHACO and OSHA and you can feel secure there, whereas, if you had to go to a hospital in a foreign country, it would've been a little nerve wracking. And, as you didn't have to the airlifted either. glad your son's better!

[reallyitsmema]

Könnten Sie bitte definieren, was du meinst von zwei gigantischen deutschen Krankenschwestern?:D

Gotta love Babel Fish!:D

[twoputt.plusone]

The only thing that you might have done differently would be to call your insurance carrier BEFORE any medical treatment was rendered. I realize this is only possible with non-life threatening situations. In that case, they might make arrangements to pay the bills and not you. At least that's how my out of country insurance works.

 

2P.P1

[WendyVF]

My daughter got sick last year on the Mariner and had IV & breathing treatments for two days. The bill was $1400. We have an HMO. I called them as soon as we got home to ask how to submit the bill. I sent it with a letter and they paid in full except for a $50 copay per day (this would have been my copay if I went to urgent care at home). The key was that I had an HMO. By law, they have to provide you with a network. If you are in a place without a network they have to pay as if you were in network. I made sure to point this out in the letter as well as indicated that the physician onboard felt it was an emergency situation due to her asthma.

[billylen]

As previous posters have stated, each insurance carrier has their own benefits schedule. While most of the charges in the ER would probably be covered (US Hospital...emergency situation) regardless if the patient had a PPO or HMO, there is no guarantee that coverage would be afforded for medical expenses incurred while onboard ship.

 

I also learned about a year ago thet even if you have the most generous insurance plans or have purchased travel insurance you still have to pay for treatment rendered while onboard and seek reimbursement when you get back home.

 

I paid $2600 (I think) for my sisters treatment, and was reimbursed.

 

Once again this is a good time to remind travelers to check their health carriers coverage prior to travel and purchase travel insurance for those just in case moments..

 

If nothing else it is worth the peace of mind.

[JRsMom]

Könnten Sie bitte definieren, was du meinst von zwei gigantischen deutschen Krankenschwestern?:D

 

 

I'm picturing the "stereotypical" Helga & Olga!!!:p

[TEXASMUNK]

I could well be wrong, if so, I apolgize. But I am guessing you already know whether your own health insruance covered your costs, especially since your medical bills were incurred in the US. I am guessing that your real intent is to bash the onboard diagnosis....your prerogative.

[rednancy1]

I'm picturing the "stereotypical" Helga & Olga!!!:p

 

Or maybe Frau Blucher.:)

[Honey's Gal]

Wow, there are so many different versions here.....

My DH had an infection in his leg. We were in the Pacific Ocean coming back from Hawaii. He had to have intravenous anti-biotics 2x's a day for three days. Our bill was $2,065.

 

We have BC/BS and they paid all but $75. It was great. We also had Trip insurance, but they will only pay what your insurance doesn't.

[ajoneen]

Könnten Sie bitte definieren, was du meinst von zwei gigantischen deutschen Krankenschwestern?:D

 

starker deutscher Vorrat.

[Cruise_Couple]

Or maybe Frau Blucher.:)

 

Neighhhh! (or whatever noise a horse makes)!:D Yes, some of us got your reference!