Most health insurance policies cover you if you get sick away from home--but check, particularly if an HMO insures you. If you travel abroad, note that with the exception of certain HMOs and Medicare/Medicaid, your medical insurance should cover medical treatment--even hospital care--overseas. However, most out-of-country hospitals make you pay your bills up front, and send you a refund after you've returned home and filed the necessary paperwork. In many cases, you pay the foreign hospital, then try to collect from your provider when you return home. Members of Blue Cross/Blue Shield can now use their cards at select hospitals in most major cities worldwide (tel. 800/810-BLUE or www.bluecares.com for a list of hospitals). If you purchase medical insurance from groups such as Access America, be warned that they pay you some or all of the difference after your primary coverage pays you first.
Under U.S. law, insurance companies are not required to cover any medical expenses incurred in countries on the State Department's Travel Advisory List, even if their policies indicate they will cover out-of-country medical expenses. Some supplemental carriers (such as the ones listed in this chapter) will sell travelers coverage for these areas. You can view the Travel Advisory List at travel.state.gov/warnings_list.html).
Some credit cards (American Express and certain gold and platinum Visa and Master Cards, for example) offer automatic flight insurance against death or dismemberment in case of an airplane crash if you charged the cost of your ticket to the card, and if you have signed up for the program in advance of our trip.
If you require additional insurance, try one of the following companies:
- Highway to Health (tel. 888/243-2358, www.highwaytohealth.com
- MEDEX International, 9515 Deereco Rd., Timonium, MD 21093-5375 (tel. 888/MEDEX-00 or 410/453-6300; fax 410/453-6301; www.medexassist.com)
- Travel Assistance International (tel. 800/821-2828; www.travelassistance.com), 9200 Keystone Crossing, Suite 300, Indianapolis, IN 46240 (for general information on services, call the company's Worldwide Assistance Services, Inc., at tel. 800777-8710)
- Only for diving destinations: The Divers Alert Network (DAN) (tel. 800/446-2671 or 919/684-8181; www.diversalertnetwork.org).
The cost of travel medical insurance varies widely. Check your existing policies before you buy additional coverage. Also, check to see if your medical insurance covers you for emergency medical evacuation: If you have to buy a one-way same-day ticket home and forfeit your nonrefundable roundtrip ticket, you may be out big bucks.