What happens when Americans get sick overseas?

[marion10]

Our health insurance covers overseas costs ( as others have mentioned it might be reimbursement). We always get evacuation/repatriation of remains insurance. Many years ago a friend of mine’s father died in Russia of a heart attack. His mother could not deal with everything and ended up flying to Russia last minute and then arranging for transport of the body home. It was very expensive.

 

[Eastbayboy]

They Learned The Hard Way

https://travelnoire.com/unvaccinated-family-covid-19-on-mexico-vacation

“ An unvaccinated family from Louisiana has sparked some controversy online over their decision to vacation after three family members tested positive for COVID-19 during the trip — leaving the husband and two of their daughters stuck in Mexico.”

This unvaccinated family took a Mexico vacation without travel insurance and could not afford the treatments for the father.

Lessons learned the hard way!

 

[Sunset]

Often now there are covid tests before you can fly international. If you test positive in some countries, you would not be allowed to fly and be put in quarantine. Or you might even lose your ticket. This is a murky insurance area as it isn't hospitalisation and isn't medical treatment, nor is it a travel delay specified in travel insurance. I saw an article in NYT the other day interviewing tourists from USA being stuck in Europe. And insurance not paying the quarantine costs. Anyone have ideas? I guess it could affect anyone this day and age.

This is a real vacation planning killer for me.

I'd hate to pay $$$$ for say a cruise and be turned away from boarding the ship because of a (-) test.
I guess it could even happen coming back on the ship from a port...

There goes my thinking of a 100+ day world cruise.

It just makes it all more of a gamble or more expensive (if there was insurance).

 

[Old Microbiologist]

We live overseas in Hungary without insurance and are fine. Even factoring in major expenses like surgeries and emergencies it costs less than the Medicare Part B payment I am required to pay to keep our awful and useless Tricare Overseas plan provided to retired military ex-pats. We have had emergency medical problems in non-EU countries such as my wife fell and broke both her tibia and fibula in 4 places requiring major surgery and a week's stay at a hospital in Sarajevo. That cost us 1,000 Euros and compared with similar surgery in the US roughly 1% of the cost with no other payments and VIP treatment (private room). The surgery a year later to remove the plates and screws was under $400.

This year I crashed riding my mountain bike and it looked like I fractured my femur so was carted off to the hospital by ambulance, treated, x-rayed, etc. and released within 2 hours at a cost of roughly $300. I was lucky as it was "only" a massive contusion. I did actually have 2 broken ribs, a broken clavicle, and 2 broken fingers which they found and I didn't know about and were treated at the same time. I also got a tetanus shot as well as COVID test in the process. No long-term sequelae.

My wife again had major surgery for emergency gall bladder removal and again went by ambulance, got an ultrasound, CT scan, lab work and all surgery etc. That was a bit more expensive as it became complicated and she had clinical death in the OR requiring resuscitation and intubation. She had a very large area of inflammation (necrosis) requiring the removal of the duct as well and part of her liver. That all came to roughly $3,000 and again VIP treatment. She is in excellent condition now and only complains about the 4 scars. I will comment again about statins causing gall stones and this was her problem. Was it caused by her taking statins? Who knows?

Anyway, my point is that in the US you all have been like boiled frogs with very slow warming of the pot until it is so hot you aren't even aware how awful things are in the US compared to everywhere else. Americans just accept these ridiculous prices as "normal". You can get excellent and cheap care in all other countries often for free.

 

[Old Microbiologist]

Regarding COVID vaccination. Anyone not getting vaccinated and expecting to travel has something wrong with their brains. We are fully vaccinated (AstraZeneca) and have the EU vaccine passport so can pretty much travel unrestricted without needing PCR tests. It would be ridiculously impossible to drive around Europe between countries without the vaccine passport (in actuality it is only a QR code on a printed paper). It is, of course, tied into the international EU COVID database in the EU. By the way, the vaccine etc. was free.

 

[athena53]

Anyway, my point is that in the US you all have been like boiled frogs with very slow warming of the pot until it is so hot you aren't even aware how awful things are in the US compared to everywhere else. Americans just accept these ridiculous prices as "normal". You can get excellent and cheap care in all other countries often for free.

Repeat after me: It is NOT free. Medical professionals do not work for free. Pharmaceutical companies do not provide their products for free. It is paid for by taxpayers one way or another. It may be zero out-of-pocket to you but it is NOT free.

I will, however, cheerfully admit that our system in the US has a lot of problems.

 

[tmm99]

https://travelnoire.com/unvaccinated-family-covid-19-on-mexico-vacation

“ An unvaccinated family from Louisiana has sparked some controversy online over their decision to vacation after three family members tested positive for COVID-19 during the trip — leaving the husband and two of their daughters stuck in Mexico.”

This unvaccinated family took a Mexico vacation without travel insurance and could not afford the treatments for the father.

Lessons learned the hard way!

I don't get it. The insurance this family had was Blue Cross Blue Shield Global Core. I just looked it up and this is insurance that covers travelling abroad...?? Maybe we need to start reading the fine prints - thinking we have coverage, but we may not

Healthcare coverage when you are traveling or living abroad
As a Blue Cross and Blue Shield member, you take your healthcare benefits with you when
you are abroad. Through the Blue Cross Blue Shield Global® Core program, you have access
to doctors and hospitals around the world.

• Before you travel, contact your Blue Cross and
Blue Shield (BCBS) company for coverage details.
Coverage outside the United States may be different.

 

[Old Microbiologist]

athena yes, it is not free and nothing in this world is but it is free to the user. Governments, in general, exist to serve the people and some governments accept that basic services are a right and must be provided by the state. The costs are contained and limited using a socialistic approach. For example all doctors here are salaried government employees and the recent increase in salary to make them equivalent to the rest of the EU raised their monthly pay to roughly $5,000 a month. That is how they cap costs. All pharmaceuticals sold in the Eu have negotiated pricing by the EU and everyone in the EU pays the same cost which is somewhere around 5% of the costs Americans pay. Those pharmaceutical companies somehow seem to still make massive profits even at these low costs. Some things are absent such as lights on in the daytime or air conditioning. But, the per bed fee is roughly $7 a day here. I think the cost per day in the US is around ranges from $1,200 to $20k per day depending on what unit you are in. Here it is all the same. It goes on and on. Yes, it is paid for by taxes. We actually pay into the system for coverage but only use it for pharmaceuticals. The cost per month per person for a non-citizen with a permanent residence permit is roughly $40 per month and it covers everything with no deductabiles of co-pays. Citizens pay even less. The services are fine and modern enough but no frills. It reminds me of military hospitals in the '70's.

 

[Scrapr]

I don't get it. The insurance this family had was Blue Cross Blue Shield Global Core. I just looked it up and this is insurance that covers travelling abroad...?? Maybe we need to start reading the fine prints - thinking we have coverage, but we may not

I think the hospitals in Mexico want cash on the barrel. So patient pays cash & is reimbursed by the insurance. Several of my employees have family in Mexico. If there is a big injury or illness they will wire money home. I have loaned money several times to be paid back out of their paycheck

 

[Sunset]

I think the hospitals in Mexico want cash on the barrel. So patient pays cash & is reimbursed by the insurance. Several of my employees have family in Mexico. If there is a big injury or illness they will wire money home. I have loaned money several times to be paid back out of their paycheck

+1

Very important when traveling to have credit cards with high limits and very low to zero balance on it to pay the upfront costs.

I usually travel with 2 CC, in addition to DW's own separate 2 CC's (in case I need a loan from her )

 

[Gearhead Jim]

https://travelnoire.com/unvaccinated-family-covid-19-on-mexico-vacation

“ An unvaccinated family from Louisiana has sparked some controversy online over their decision to vacation after three family members tested positive for COVID-19 during the trip — leaving the husband and two of their daughters stuck in Mexico.”

This unvaccinated family took a Mexico vacation without travel insurance and could not afford the treatments for the father.

Lessons learned the hard way!

And they put the father, with active Covid, on a bus to the US because land travel doesn't require a covid test. Then Dad can't breath on the bus and gets dropped off at a different Mexican hospital.
They're not getting any sympathy from me.
And I doubt that they were bright enough to learn anything from this disaster.

 

[SecondAttempt]

... our BlueCross plans didn’t cover international...

Are you sure about that? I have been research BCBS and Kaiser for my own purposes as I posted in another thread and both seem to cover urgent and emergency care anywhere in the world. BCBS even covers some routine care with preauthorization. I'm not saying you are wrong because I am very frustrated with the lack of any clear information. But both Kaiser and BCBS seem to have a process for authorizing care outside the US.

 

[SecondAttempt]

Forty plus years ago I lived in European country as an exchange student. Even as an American they never bothered to charge me for medical care, though I never needed any except for a checkup and a sore throat one time that was nothing. The doctors worked for the government and I think dealing with the paperwork of billing an insurance company in the US, which I had, was just too much of a pain.

One of my friends from the time is married to a dentist and she says things have changed a lot. They have so many immigrants needing care that they have to be very diligent with billing even if it is to home countries.

More recently I worked for a company with a lot of European workers who were mostly visiting for a few weeks or months at a time. On several occasions I took them to a doctor or dentist and waited. They had no trouble getting care anywhere they went after showing their European health card. I learned that the doctors liked them because they got paid quickly without hassle!

I think it is the opposite for us Americans. Foreign doctors who would otherwise be willing to help/treat are frustrated by the difficulty in dealing with American insurance companies and understandably are very hesitant and want to be paid up front.

 

[Alan]

Forty plus years ago I lived in European country as an exchange student. Even as an American they never bothered to charge me for medical care, though I never needed any except for a checkup and a sore throat one time that was nothing. The doctors worked for the government and I think dealing with the paperwork of billing an insurance company in the US, which I had, was just too much of a pain.

One of my friends from the time is married to a dentist and she says things have changed a lot. They have so many immigrants needing care that they have to be very diligent with billing even if it is to home countries.

More recently I worked for a company with a lot of European workers who were mostly visiting for a few weeks or months at a time. On several occasions I took them to a doctor or dentist and waited. They had no trouble getting care anywhere they went after showing their European health card. I learned that the doctors liked them because they got paid quickly without hassle!

I think it is the opposite for us Americans. Foreign doctors who would otherwise be willing to help/treat are frustrated by the difficulty in dealing with American insurance companies and understandably are very hesitant and want to be paid up front.

I don’t think they accept American insurance at all. A few years ago a friend of mine from Louisiana was on holiday in Vienna and his wife got sick. They went to see a doctor and paid in full, then claimed 100% back from BCBS when they returned. He said he was amazed at how inexpensive it was and the ease of getting a refund from the insurance when he submitted his claim.

The UK is the same, they don’t attempt to charge foreign insurance companies, if payment is required you pay upfront.

 

[audreyh1]

Are you sure about that? I have been research BCBS and Kaiser for my own purposes as I posted in another thread and both seem to cover urgent and emergency care anywhere in the world. BCBS even covers some routine care with preauthorization. I'm not saying you are wrong because I am very frustrated with the lack of any clear information. But both Kaiser and BCBS seem to have a process for authorizing care outside the US.

Our BCBS doesn’t either because they only offer the HMOs in our state. Doesn’t cover anything out of state except for limited emergency coverage per ACA.

BCBS PPO networks cover international. Not available here.

 

[brett]

Pre covid (and hopefully post covid) we traveled internationally twice a year for at least two months each time. Plus some AI trips in between.

We are in our late 60's. Most of our travel is independent. We are in excellent health

We view out of country medical and evac. insurance as by far the greatest financial risk when we travel. We spend time buying, and understanding the T's and C's -the dollar limits, the exclusions, pre-exisitings, etc.

On the advice of a good TA, we never buy this insurance from a travel provider, TA, etc. Always from a carrier.

We travel with several credit card with large credit limits in case we do have medical issues that require cash payment with re-imbursement when we return home.

Our advice would be never to assume anything about your medical coverage. Don't take the word of others. Check for yourself. If you buy insurance be mindful of those CSR's who sell it off a detail sheet and are often unfamiliar with all but five or six bullets on the brochure.

I have an annual travel policy provided with my DB pension. BUT....each year we go on line to the provider and review the policy for changes that may have been made to the policy.

 

[SecondAttempt]

Our BCBS doesn’t either because they only offer the HMOs in our state. Doesn’t cover anything out of state except for limited emergency coverage per ACA.

BCBS PPO networks cover international. Not available here.

Thanks. I was looking at the specifics of my existing BCBS coverage which is PPO. That explains the difference.

 

[Bamaman]

Our Medicare supplement pays on overseas emergency rooms. We are in Dresden today, and we also have Allianz medical coverage. It pays if you have not been treated for an ailment within 120 days.

We usually do not buy medical or travel insurance, but these are not normal times.

 

[brett]

My spouse had a 1/2 day stay in a Malaysian hospital five years or so ago. Xrays, an MRI, and a consult.

We simply paid the $800 or so on our credit card. They gave us the xrays, MRI cd, a weeks worth of prescription drugs, and a written report for our insurer.

Submitted it to the insurer and it was paid without question.