Many Americans traveling or relocating abroad seek supplemental travel health coverage, while others need annual international health protection coverage.
Medical evacuation insurance is essential for living or working abroad, as it covers the high costs of repatriating an injured traveler home. Understand the distinctions between international health and travel medical insurance to find which type will suit you best.
1. Check Your Policy Document
Your employer health insurance should cover you abroad; however, public coverage such as Medicare or Medicaid doesn’t typically do. They tend to only provide coverage within your state of residency; thus if you travel outside the US you won’t be covered for medical expenses incurred from travel or residency outside its borders. International health insurance allows expats flexibility in seeking treatment from wherever within their region of coverage.
As soon as you receive your policy document, there are a few items to verify for accuracy. Make sure all of your personal details, such as name, contact number and residential address, are present accurately so they can be reached if any claims or queries arise.
Examine the fine print of your policy carefully to understand which services are included and excluded, any extra benefits you’ve added such as critical illness cover or daily hospital cash, and read through its summary of benefits and coverage (SBC) document to get a full picture of its coverage before traveling abroad.
Last, find out the amount that your insurance provider charges for out-of-network care to determine whether additional policies might be needed for any international travel plans you might have.
If you have questions regarding the validity of your policy, don’t hesitate to get in touch with the insurer’s customer care executives. They will be more than willing to assist and provide all the information needed. In case it has expired, they can also inform you how you can revive it.
Be sure to keep a copy of your policy document handy at all times when traveling, in order to easily present it to healthcare providers who might come into your travels. Some policies offer wallet-sized cards while others will simply provide this information through other channels such as an email or app.
2. Contact Your Insurance Company
Will Your Health Insurance Cover Me Abroad? The coverage provided by your international health insurance depends on its terms. Before traveling abroad, consult with your insurer in advance about what to expect when it comes to foreign hospitals being in network and document requirements for filing claims. Pack enough emergency funds while away; filing claims after returning home should help cover unexpected expenses.
Even if your health insurance covers you abroad, there may still be limitations attached. For instance, many domestic health plans don’t pay for prescriptions outside their own country, or cover routine care such as physical exams and non-emergency medical visits abroad. Furthermore, international doctors and hospitals are typically considered “out of network”, meaning they have no relationship with your insurance plan; this can result in higher out-of-pocket expenses that you must then pay upfront before being reimbursed by them later.
Due to this reason, some travelers opt to purchase travel insurance instead of or in addition to their regular health coverage. Travel insurance provides emergency medical and other benefits that could make a big difference while traveling abroad.
Not all travel insurance plans provide medical coverage alone; instead, some also include lost baggage coverage and trip cancellation coverage. It’s essential to compare various forms of travel coverage available as each may have different advantages and disadvantages.
Dependent upon your destination and needs, either option may be suitable for you. Speak with a travel insurance specialist for more information regarding each option available to you; they can explain differences between individual travel medical insurance plans and group travel/health plans, helping you decide which is the most suitable one. For additional tips on what to consider when buying travel insurance see our article “What to Look For In Travel Insurance.”
3. Check With Your Doctor
Medical emergencies can quickly derail travel plans and threaten both financial security and your wellbeing. To safeguard against such contingencies, the best thing you can do when traveling abroad is determine if your existing health insurance coverage can provide assistance in an emergency.
Many travelers who travel frequently wonder whether their home insurance will provide coverage while away. Unfortunately, it generally won’t – with some notable exceptions being premium travel credit cards which offer limited emergency medical coverage; these policies should not replace primary health coverage however.
Margaret Wilson of UnitedHealthcare Global explains that one of the main reasons to purchase international travel insurance is because your U.S.-based health plan won’t pay healthcare providers in other countries, most of whom require prepayment prior to receiving treatment, which you can later claim back from your insurer once back home in America.
Cigna, Aetna, Kaiser Permanente and UnitedHealthcare all recommend purchasing an international travel healthcare policy as part of any long-term trip or frequent short breaks away from home. Such plans often cover a wider array of illnesses and injuries and even offer repatriation services in case of death or severe injury.
These plans can also be more cost-effective than you may realize due to their supplemental nature, with core plan deductibles and careful consideration of regions being key factors in keeping premiums down; additionally, selecting lower coverage levels (Worldwide without USA coverage for example) could further lower them. There are various websites offering comparisons of individual travel health insurance plans, enabling you to quickly evaluate multiple plans and make an informed decision about which option is right for you. Asked your health insurance provider or seeking independent travel insurance advice can also be useful. Many people don’t realize their U.S.-based health plan doesn’t automatically cover them abroad – leaving them exposed to significant bills and possible legal complications.
4. Ask Your Hospital
American expats abroad frequently wonder whether or not their primary health insurance provides coverage abroad, while retirees on Medicare may have concerns regarding coverage overseas. International exchange programs also may want to know whether student health coverage transfers while away.
As most primary insurance plans do not cover medical expenses in foreign countries, Medicare does not. Many hospitals abroad require payment up front before filing claims with their insurer when returning home; to make the process as seamless as possible, patients should bring itemized medical bills (include date of treatment, services provided and cost), their health insurance card copy as well as any relevant documents with them when filing their claims with their insurer upon return home.
Additionally, they should inquire with the hospital regarding what documentation is necessary for filing an insurance claim with their provider. Insurers often require letters from doctors describing why treatment was necessary as well as copies of travel itineraries and passports used to enter countries; some hospitals offer translation services for patients unable to speak the local language where treatment takes place.
Additionally, travelers should inquire whether their primary health plan provides any supplementary coverage for medical emergencies when travelling abroad. Blue Cross and Blue Shield (BCBS) plans often offer GeoBlue, which provides coverage for medical and emergency evacuation services abroad; members can enroll directly through BCBS’s website. Other insurers, like UnitedHealthcare Global, sell travel-specific health plans that can be purchased directly or through third parties.
Purchase of an individual international health insurance policy can be especially important when traveling in remote regions. Such plans typically offer core benefits such as inpatient and outpatient coverage as well as medical evacuation and repatriation coverages, with plans that can be tailored specifically to meet the needs of your trip, such as Europe only coverage, Southeast Asia coverage or worldwide excluding U.S.