Travel health insurance

[Jack46]

We are retired and participate in a Medicare Advantage program. Medical coverage outside of our home area is limited so i was wondering if anyone knows of a supplemental plan that covers just that, plus perhaps transport, etc. for RVers? Most travel plans (Allianz) are set up to cover travelers who are flying or cruising, etc.

Thanks, Jack

[Lily&Me]

Hmmm, that will be a problem if you intend to spend a lot of retirement time traveling.

You’ve got to have medical coverage, as there will invariably be something over time requiring care for you and your wife. It could be catastrophic, and financially devastating without proper insurance.

I’m not too well versed in different types of plans, but you may be able to opt for one within your current provider, designed for retirees that travel, that will provide the coverage you need.

I would start there, and good luck.

Maggie

[OTRA15]

Good Sam has a Travel Assist plan for getting back home, but it does not cover medical costs as far as I know. We signed up for this but have never used it so far.

How limited is your plan when you leave your coverage area? Could you put the drop in coverage in dollar terms, or quantify it in some way, like higher deductible etc.?

Thanks for this thread, I will look into ours.

There are travel threads about medical coverage in Canada, which may be helpful in some way?

https://www.google.com/search?q=medi...=airforums.com

Peter

[Lily&Me]

I know that I have a PPO, as did Doug, and it covered all but about $2,000 of his medical costs when he was stricken and then died in Georgia.

It would not have covered a medical transport home, tho, had he survived.

I can’t imagine that companies that provide health insurance to retirees don’t offer out of area coverage plans.

Maggie

[nvestysly]

There are all kinds of options and it seems no two plans are the same so it's difficult to compare. I like the idea of keeping medical coverage separate from trip (cancellation) insurance and separate from evacuation/repatriation insurance but that's not always possible. I guess what I'm getting at is when I purchase insurance I want to know specifically what it is covering and what the terms of the plan are in detail. Many one-size-fits-all plans that cover medical, trip cancellation and evacuation have quite a bit of fine print.

Give some serious thought to changing your Medicare plan at the next open enrollment period if you will continue to travel in your RV. There are Medicare plans that have quite large networks or at least don't have as many exclusions for what's considered in network.

Regarding evacuation/repatriation/RV return... SkyMed is one of the best plans. Look them up on line. They don't cover medical and they don't cover trip cancellation. They focus on getting you home, your remains home, your significant other home, somebody to be at your side to help you through all of this, return your RV, etc. SkyMed does a great job at what they do but they won't help you find a doctor when you have stomach ache in another state. They will get you and your RV home when you are incapable of doing so yourself.

[ZOZ]

Traveling with Medicare Advantage plans

If you receive your Medicare coverage through a Medicare Advantage plan, instead of Original Medicare, the rules for out-of-state coverage are different and will depend on the type of Medicare Advantage plan you're enrolled in. Certain types of Medicare Advantage plans, such as HMOs, have provider networks that you must use to be covered for routine care. You generally need to get health-care services from doctors and hospitals in the plan network, although you'll still be covered if you need emergency medical care, out-of-area urgent care, or out-of-area kidney dialysis. (source: ecare Medicare)

zoz

[Jack46]

We moved from a PPO supplement to an Advantage HMO on January 1. We were paying about $6,000/year for coverage and not coming close to using that much. Of course the downside of an HMO has been pointed out - out of pockets, network utilization limits, etc. I can buy a travel coverage for our various RV trips that covers way more than we need and that may be our only option. Interesting that it seems to be difficult to find only the medical and evacuation coverage that RVers might need while on the road. Stuff like "lost luggage" and "trip interruption" and "rebooking" just does not apply in our case.

Thanks for the interesting replies. I did spend four days in a Canadian hospital last summer while on an WBCCI Caravan. The bad news is that Medicare does not cover you outside the US unless under very narrow requirements, Our then Supplement did - 80% and a $250 deductible. Still an expensive lesson. We'd never now travel again outside US without buying travel insurance. I was hoping to find a less expensive alternative when we do our "weekend" RV getaways.