Medical Emergency Insurance

[Ed Brownfield]

We are going on our first Airstream Caravan this summer. Part of the trip will be spent in Canada. We have medicare and Anthem as supplemental insurance but we believe that we need more coverage than these two when we are outside of the United States. We are looking for advice on what company we should consider purchasing medical emergency insurance from while we are in Canada. Any help that you can provide will be greatly appreciated.

[Al - K4GLU]

Have been to Canada many times and have never bought any extra insurance - in fact I never even thought about it. Doubt anyone else has either. Doubt there is any such insurance available but guess I could be wrong about that.

[Lily&Me]

My health insurance will reimburse for covered expenses which occur out of country, and that may be the case for yours.

I think the big expense would be a medical transport home, in the case of something catastrophic. Like a stroke, head injury, etc., that would require longterm aftercare that you wouldn't want to stay in another country for.

Might talk with your insurance company and see what they say.

We have been to Canada and didn't purchase any additional insurance.


Maggie

[Nuvite-F]

Originally Posted by Ed Brownfield

We are going on our first Airstream Caravan this summer. Part of the trip will be spent in Canada. We have medicare and Anthem as supplemental insurance but we believe that we need more coverage than these two when we are outside of the United States. We are looking for advice on what company we should consider purchasing medical emergency insurance from while we are in Canada. Any help that you can provide will be greatly appreciated.

A few years ago my wife and I were in the ER in Banff, Alberta with a possible heart attack. (Incidentally, we have absolutely nothing but good things to say about the staff there. And it turned out not to be a heart attack.)

In any case the hospital preferred direct pay for the ER visit (cash, check, or credit card) but they said our insurance would reimburse us, which they did. And, if my wife had to be admitted, the hospital said they would work out reimbursement by the insurance company. We have Humana Medicare Advantage, although I'm not sure that's what we had then. Check your insurance policy or give them a call.

What we do have is Skymed medical evacuation insurance, which will pay to fly you home and take care of your RV, pets, and other family members as needed. Emergency Travel Evacuation Medevac Membership Insurance | SkyMed

'Tain't cheap, but worth its weight in gold if you need it. We know people who have used it.

[AWCHIEF]

Fortunetly I have Tricare Prime but use TravelGuard when traveling outside of the country.

[Mrjkq]

Being a Florida resident, I've met many north of the border snow birds. While in the US most purchase a plan to cover their medical needs while here. I'm sure their is a plan that will cover your's while in Canada. Google would be a good place to start.

[RangerJay]

Talk to your insurance company about what they cover - and what they don't cover - medi-vacs to the nearest hospital that can treat you are not cheap - also understand what the consequences of the phrase "pre-existing condition" can mean to you - and think about emergency travel assistance to get you, your spouse and your rig back home in the event you need it.


Jay

[ghaynes755]

Take a look at SkyMed. The advertise in the Blue Beret. You sign up during your trip and then cancel.

[Isuzusweet]

One thing for sure....you will never have to worry about getting mediical attention anywhere in Canada, or being turned away due to not having enough insurance.....Up here we take care of people first, everything else is a distance second.

I have a relative who married an American who had a heart attack while on a visit to Ottawa and required an immediate operation. At no time did anyone ask him or his Canadian wife about money. They saved his life first.

All we ask is that you don't slam our system of healthcare where the sickest person or children go first and not the wealthiest. It doesn't matter how much money you have, you will have to wait patiently for your turn.

The system you have is the system that works for you, but not us.

As for travel insurance you may find it cheaper to buy Canadian health supplential insurance from CAA while you are up here, as the exchange rate is to your favour by 20%.

https://www.caasco.com/Insurance/Tra...tGroupID=10001

Welcome to Canada and please remember to leave your handguns at home, as they are not permitted in Canada at all.

Cheers
Tony

[Lily&Me]

I just want to say.....anyone showing up in an Emergency Room in the US needing care must be treated, regardless of ability to pay.

People are not turned away from ER's here because of lack of insurance. It is unethical, and I believe illegal.

One of the problems in the US is the uninsured using ER's as primary care physicians, because they can't pay for an office visit.

They know they will get treatmebt at the ER, so that's where they go.



Maggie

[StreamNTyme]

Take a look at Travel Assist from Good Sam. Lots of benefits.

[paiceman]

On this subject, sort of. Our friends daughter was in a car accident in the states - Life Flight picked her up and flew her to nearest hospital. $18,500.00 flight. This came under the medical part of their Auto Insurance, not their health insurance (still in discussions) their coverage was the standard $5,000 for medical expenses as our WAS. For a few dollars more per year our medical Auto coverage is now $25,000.00. Their daughter is fine by the way, few broken bones and a totaled car hit by a drunk driver - topic of another discussion.

Enjoy your trip.

Bud

[polarlyse]

We just purchased the travel assistance plan through Good Sam. Haven't used it so no remarks yet. In March we were on a Caribbean cruise. While on the ship I had an earache and sought out the ships medical staff. It was all charged to my ship account but when I got home I called Medicare to see about submitting a claim. Ehhhhhh, NO GO. They would only cover if the care was provided within US territorial waters. I'm not sure how far out that goes but we apparently were not in it. Fortunately the charge for the Dr. was nominal and not worth pursuing it farther. The cost for the medication was more of an issue. My prescription plan also denied coverage saying they only would cover medication manufactured in the USA. Those given to me on the ship were all from Great Britan. So I struck out all around. The Chief mentioned above he has Tricare. So do I and I had not thought to submit it to them. Perhaps I will try. Bottom line is for those of us forced into Medicare travel outside of the US may become an issue. Fortunately we have backup coverage.