International Medical Coverage

[LIWIKI]

My wife and I will retire next year and begin 2 years of full time international travel.
We'll spend about 3 months in each of 6-8 countries.
I'm starting to research my options for medical insurance and would appreciate anyone pointing me in the right direction.
Thank you.

 

[KingB]

I don't know if you are Medicare Eligible, but if you are, part of Medical Supplement Plan F covers medical insurance outside the USA. There is a $250 deductible though.

 

[LIWIKI]

Sorry I did not provide that detail. I am not Medicare Eligible (49 years old)

 

[MichaelB]

LIWIKI, this thread has some useful information http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f46/living-abroad-3-6-months-at-a-time-60789.html and if you use the search function you may find other threads that discuss travelers health insurance.

 

[Lsbcal]

I don't know if you are Medicare Eligible, but if you are, part of Medical Supplement Plan F covers medical insurance outside the USA. There is a $250 deductible though.

Are you referring to Medigap coverage when you mention "Plan F"? I'm still learning about Medicare and insurance choices.

 

[REWahoo]

Are you referring to Medigap coverage when you mention "Plan F"? I'm still learning about Medicare and insurance choices.

Yes. The "official" name for medigap policies is Medicare Supplement Insurance.

 

[kevink]

These guys are excellent both for cost comparisons and overall service:

Cruise, Travel, Trip Insurance | Avoid the Traps With Personal Advice, Side-By-Side Comparisons

Also check out worldnomads (.com). We've used both companies extensively. Don't forget to check to see what sort of insurance you can get by booking airfare and the like using your credit card. Visa and AmEx, especially the premium cards (e.g. Visa Platinum) include quite a bit of coverage and there's no point in double-paying.

 

[nun]

My wife and I will retire next year and begin 2 years of full time international travel.
We'll spend about 3 months in each of 6-8 countries.
I'm starting to research my options for medical insurance and would appreciate anyone pointing me in the right direction.
Thank you.

Firstly check to see if your US policy will cover you abroad. If it does you will probably only need insurance to cover emergency flights back home.

 

[ItDontMeanAThing]

Check out Squaremouth. I've used them for trip insurance, but they offer the sort of insurance you need. They are not an insurance company, they're a tool to find a company and a policy. What sets them apart is who they list:

Zero Complaint Policy
We work on your behalf. If any one of our clients has a complaint against an insurance provider that cannot be resolved to our satisfaction, we will remove the provider from our site and no longer sell its products.

Keep in mind, that's resolving the complaint to squaremouth's satisfaction, not the clients. In my experience most client complaints come down to one or all of the following: 1) Loss wasn't covered because it's an exclusion clearly stated in the policy, 2) client didn't submit the correct documentation with the claim, 3) client didn't submit the claim in time, 4) client thought they were somehow special and the insurance company should cut them some slack.

 

[kramer]

Another gotcha is that many regular US health insurance policies require you to maintain residency in the State where you purchased. So read those terms and conditions carefully. This is a separate issue than being covered abroad.

Also, the US health insurance policy that I used to have had a higher deductible for treatment abroad and it was a separate deductible, meaning that it did not count toward the deductible in the USA.