Medical Coverage and Medevac Insurance for Travelers — Why it is important to understand the risks!
Also visit: What do I need for Coverage? and How much does Coverage cost?
If you are injured or become ill on an overseas trip, medical help is often questionable. Even if skilled assistance is available, it may require an immediate evacuation to the United States. Even simple injuries may necessitate costly transportation efforts.
The following is quoted from the State Department web site section on “Health Issues”.
The U.S. state department has special recommendations for medical emergencies for international travel, to review them in detail, click the above link.
“Obtaining medical treatment and hospital care abroad can be expensive, and medical evacuation to the U.S. can cost more than $50,000. Note that U.S. medical insurance is generally not accepted outside the United States, nor do the Social Security Medicare and Medicaid programs provide coverage for hospital or medical costs outside the United States.”
Medical Protection for Travelers
Medical Protection is insurance coverage that helps pay for your medical costs when you are given necessary medical treatment and possibly medical evacuation (Medevac) when an emergency accident or illness first occurs during your trip. Your own U.S. health insurance or Medicare plan either may not be accepted, or be adequate, to cover your medical bills, so Medical Protection provides additional levels of coverage.
What is Covered by Emergency Medical Expense?
This insurance coverage is for necessary medical treatment, including services and supplies that must be performed during the trip due to the serious nature of your emergency accident or illness. The covered costs can also include the doctors’ services, the hospital stay, operating room costs, anesthesia and drugs, X-rays and necessary tests, and therapy services. There is also coverage for emergency dental treatment due to injury during a trip and any advance costs needed to secure your hospital admission. All of the covered costs must be reasonable and customary charges. Coverage is included up to the dollar limits per person stated in your policy.
Medevac Insurance: What is Covered by Emergency Evacuation?
Emergency Evacuation (Medevac) provides coverage when your medical condition requires immediate transportation from the place where you are injured or sick to the nearest hospital where you can receive the medical treatment you need.
A licensed physician coordinates with the assistance company to determine the best and closest hospital for you to be taken to if local medical facilities are not adequate. The covered costs, up to the dollar limits stated on your policy, can include a land or air ambulance, or commercial airliner, as well as a medical escort if one is recommended by the attending physician.
After you have been hospitalized more than 7 days following an emergency evacuation, this coverage can include transportation to return you to your home in the U.S. with a medical escort if necessary. It can also cover returning home any of your dependent children with you by economy air service. Emergency Evacuation can cover the air cost of bringing a person to the hospital where you were evacuated if you were traveling alone, and the airline ticket cost to return you home within one year after your hospitalization.
In extreme conditions, helicopter or specially arranged flights may be required and the cost of this transport can be devastating. Reasonable examples include: ocean rescue, mountain rescue and remote rescue. We can’t prevent your injuries, we can’t stop illness, but if something happens we can help with advice and the funds to insure that you get home to the best medical help in the world!
Travel Insured’s Worldwide Assistance Services are provided with every plan and are accessible by free phone call 24/7 from anywhere you travel worldwide.