I don't want to start a debate about medicare...just beware when travelling

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A little worse than the Canadians that banged into my wife's car on the highway and then gave her their insurance info. When I called the insurance number it was for their healthcare coverage here and I never was able to locate them. :mad:
 
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Nothing to do with medicare, but a lot to do with a seriously big hospital bill and an intransigent insurance company.
 
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What a scary situation to be in..

I didn't wanna start the universal Medicare in Canada vs private in US debate and didn't want anyone else to start it.

What is the point in getting travel insurance... They never seem to want to pay?

Andrew
 
I have never carried travel insurance because of the many exceptions. However, in this case they are stretching the truth to say it was a prior condition methinks.
 
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I don't use travel insurance for the same reason I don't take insurance when playing black jack. If the house is offering it, its probably doing them more good than it is me.
 
Ha! In reality my rainy day fund wouldn't put a dent in that debt.

But hey, they get to tell the tale of their nearly million dollar vacation to Hawaii.
 
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watch this get shot right down, think the new legals tomorrow to this country will groan about their childbirth bills? at least this couple can work in the courts, doesn't make it right, but it is there for them. hell they do it rt. and get what for it. if they could have only gotten to Hi. illegally?
 
heading to the ash can in 3..2..
 
I guess there's always a small print that needs to be read. Insurance is no exception.

Personally I wouldn't go to an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean when my wife was pregnant, period. wait until after the child is born or go before you're pregnant!

Andrew
 
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Crazy, i got in a similar situation a few years ago while working in Texas.... My wife fell from her bicycle because of our own dog, and just 1 X-Ray and a on call doctor to only say : It is not broken.... Was a couple grand..... I only had 7 days left on my work visa then ( wich was supposed to be renew) and worked over 3000 hours in the past 52 weeks.... I freak out, resigned from this assignement, hook the Rv and brought my wife to our home town county hospital 4500 miles North of Midland ..... I did stop for 1 day in Graceland on my way back :-) . That was the end of my US adventure .....
 
I just had a blister that looked infected lanced. It was the size of a dime and was on my finger. One slice, a squeeze, a bandaid and a scrip. $890 Literally 10 minutes.
I have a relative in Brazil who had a broken arm xrayed, set and casted for $600 US
 
Swedishchef said:
You didn't have travel insurance?
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Well, when I got my first assignement in the US it was suppose to be 3 weeks only, and ou basic canadian covergae plan were covering her for 3 months... so I did have her inculded on my ''work in the US'' corporate benefits.... and sooner than later the 3 months was gon so I started a long back and forth trail of emails with HR and our US corporate insurance broker, and after 4 months they finally make te call that I could not add her to the ongoing contract. So I then started to look for covergae for her.... she was in the US under my work via..... so she was not consider a US resident so company in the US would give her any kind of covergae..... so we looked in Canada, but as she was ou of Canada for more than 6 months, she was no longer coverd by the basic provincial insurance plan, so no canadian company would gicve her a covergae without te basic being cover by any of the regular provincial health care.... it kind of felt in the limbo where we were stuck with no easy way ou, and she didn't want to go home alone... so we took a chance..... a chance that could have cost us a lot of money......

But after a lot of negociating with the hospital I lowered the bill by over 90%, ended up ok.... but I don't want to think what would ahve had happen if it would have been something really serious..... anyhow... learned the lesson..... and this 364 days and a half in the US (The visa was good for 365 days) was an awesome experience !
 
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Checked my policy. I am covered for travel abroad.
 
Fi-Q said:
Well, when I got my first assignement in the US it was suppose to be 3 weeks only, and ou basic canadian covergae plan were covering her for 3 months... so I did have her inculded on my ''work in the US'' corporate benefits.... and sooner than later the 3 months was gon so I started a long back and forth trail of emails with HR and our US corporate insurance broker, and after 4 months they finally make te call that I could not add her to the ongoing contract. So I then started to look for covergae for her.... she was in the US under my work via..... so she was not consider a US resident so company in the US would give her any kind of covergae..... so we looked in Canada, but as she was ou of Canada for more than 6 months, she was no longer coverd by the basic provincial insurance plan, so no canadian company would gicve her a covergae without te basic being cover by any of the regular provincial health care.... it kind of felt in the limbo where we were stuck with no easy way ou, and she didn't want to go home alone... so we took a chance..... a chance that could have cost us a lot of money......

But after a lot of negociating with the hospital I lowered the bill by over 90%, ended up ok.... but I don't want to think what would ahve had happen if it would have been something really serious..... anyhow... learned the lesson..... and this 364 days and a half in the US (The visa was good for 365 days) was an awesome experience !
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Wow. Now that is what I call stuck between a rock and a hard place!! I am glad to see you got out of the situation in a good stance and were able to get a reduction on the hospital bill.

ANdrew
 
Swedishchef said:
I too am covered when I work out of country but I am wondering how good my coverage is?! Gotta start reading some fine print..

Andrew
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We're US citizens but spend almost 6 months a year in Canada and don't have any supplemental insurance. We've been told by Blue Cross that if we need hospitalization in Canada that we can submit our bills (after paying them) and that Blue Cross will "likely" pay about 80%. I'm not sure I want to test this. It sounds less than ironclad. Best just to stay healthy. Now, I also have a US friend in Canada who is retired from the State Department. He gets free health insurance anywhere in the world even after he retired. Not bad if you can qualify.

ChipTam
 
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When polled the majority in the country want a single payer system. It's our pols that are the issue. Insurance, hospital and medical tech lobbyists have them by the short hairs and owing favors until 2099.
 
chickenman said:
Here in Australia we look at the health care system in the US and scratch our heads.
We all pay a medicare levy and public hospitals are free. If you want private you pay extra insurance so you get quicker access for whatever surgery you want or need. Still cost very little, had it for years.
If the US medicare is anything like what we have here I cant see what all the fuss is about. No one here would vote against medicare. Sure poor people get free medical but hell you gotta give something back occasionally.
No one goes to the US from Australia without travel insurance. It is like sleeping on a bed of nails without a tetanus shot.
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Tsk tsk. Don't start the debate, the thread will be tossed in the can!!

Just remember: some systems work for some places and not one system is perfect.

All that to say, if you travel to a foreign country (Serbia for example) and you think you are covered due to the purchase of 3rd party insurance, it sucks to find out the company won't dish out the cash when you need to pay the bills of a medical intervention.

Andrew
 
ChipTam said:
We're US citizens but spend almost 6 months a year in Canada and don't have any supplemental insurance. We've been told by Blue Cross that if we need hospitalization in Canada that we can submit our bills (after paying them) and that Blue Cross will "likely" pay about 80%. I'm not sure I want to test this. It sounds less than ironclad. Best just to stay healthy. Now, I also have a US friend in Canada who is retired from the State Department. He gets free health insurance anywhere in the world even after he retired. Not bad if you can qualify.

ChipTam
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Chip even if you didn't have medical insurance and were hospitalized in Newfoundland, the kind people of Newfoundland would likely hold lobster suppers and raise money to pay for your bills themselves!!! lol

Andrew
 
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We were at my buddy's house near Souris in PEI. We stopped in the local "pizza" joint and told the owner (who he knew from being in the area for a while) we wanted a meat pie made up so we could cook it in the oven that night. She told us it'd be ready in the afternoon.
We stopped back and the shop was closed (as she often did whenever she felt like it) there was a note on the door, "Steve, pie is in your fridge" Since most doors are never locked, we got back to the house and it there is was with hand written cooking instructions laid out on the counter. ;lol

I love that area.
 
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