# Emergency Health Insurance via Travel Insurance



## Ajijic Lady (Jan 19, 2009)

We own homes in the US and MX. We are on Medicare with a supplemental plan. 

The supplemental plan will cover us in MX for emergencies only, but only for the first 60 days of any trip outside the US.

I just booked flights for a 3 1/2 month visit to MX. It offered travel insurance. Looking into the offer, it would cover emergency medical up to 50K USD for the duration of the trip, for $200 USD for both of us (married couple). It would not preclude pre-existing conditions as long as the policy is purchased within 3 weeks of booking flights. 

Any thoughts on this?


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## MJD13 (Aug 11, 2014)

That's probably a decent option for you. Be sure to read the fine print. What I really want to tell you is that several Medicare Advantage (Medicare Part C) plans have liberal international emergency benefits without time restrictions. We live in Mexico year round with occasional visits back to the States. Our concern is an emergency hospitalization for something really serious. We use AARP's UnitedHealth's Medicare Advantage plan. Humana also has similar programs. What's exactly available to you will depend on where you live in the States. With these programs you don't have a Medigap type plan. Take a look when open enrollment comes around. In the meantime, I know several people who have used travel medical insurance when traveling outside of the USA...like, ending up in the hospital in Guatemala...and have been happy with the coverage and service. Usually, you have to pay out of pocket and get reimbursed later so always have a credit card and keep good records.


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## Ajijic Lady (Jan 19, 2009)

I looked at AARP website and its Advantage plan only covers you the first 60 days outside the US on travel. If you have a longer period outside the US, can you give me a link to the policy plan? Gracias!


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## MJD13 (Aug 11, 2014)

Ajijic Lady said:


> I looked at AARP website and its Advantage plan only covers you the first 60 days outside the US on travel. If you have a longer period outside the US, can you give me a link to the policy plan? Gracias!


No problem. Remember, you are looking for a Medicare Advantage Plan. You may, or may not, have one available in your service area. We are in zip code 85755 and have 2 plans available to us. We use the HMO/POS plan so we can self refer to specialists. I'm providing a link to the purely HMO plan but the international emergency provisions are the same in both. It's a pdf document and super long. I copied/pasted the relevant text below.
https://www.aarpmedicareplans.com/a.../@highrespdf/documents/highrespdf/3897419.pdf

Also, here is their definition of an emergency on page 50:
A “medical emergency” is when you, or any other prudent layperson with an average knowledge
of health and medicine, believe that you have medical symptoms that require immediate medical
attention to prevent loss of life, loss of a limb, or loss of function of a limb. The medical symptoms
may be an illness, injury, severe pain, or a medical condition that is quickly getting worse.


Here is the relevant text. Page 52. You will want to read the whole section for yourself. It's very reasonable. I spent 30 years in the health insurance industry and I've read every word of the plan and there is nothing tricky in it re: emergency coverage outside of USA. There are no time restrictions, etc. 
"You may get covered emergency medical care whenever you need it, anywhere in the
world. Our plan covers ambulance services in situations where getting to the emergency room in any other way could endanger your health. For more information, see the Medical Benefits Chart in Chapter 4 of this booklet.
If you receive emergency or urgently-needed services outside of the United States or its territories, you generally will be required to pay the bill at the time you receive the services. Most foreign providers are not eligible to receive reimbursement directly from Medicare, and will ask you to pay for the services directly. Ask for a written, detailed bill or receipt showing the specific services provided to you. Send a copy of the itemized bill or an itemized receipt to us to pay you back. You should be prepared to assist us in obtaining any additional information necessary to properly process your request for reimbursement, including medical records.
If you have an emergency, we will talk with the doctors who are giving you emergency care to help manage and follow up on your care. The doctors who are giving you emergency care will decide when your condition is stable and the medical emergency is over.
After the emergency is over you are entitled to follow-up care to be sure your condition continues
to be stable. Your follow-up care will be covered by our plan. If your emergency care is provided by out-of-network providers, we will try to arrange for network providers to take over your care as soon as your medical condition and the circumstances allow. 
What if it wasn’t a medical emergency?
Sometimes it can be hard to know if you have a medical emergency. For example, you might go in
for emergency care – thinking that your health is in serious danger – and the doctor may say that it wasn’t a medical emergency after all. If it turns out that it was not an emergency, as long as you reasonably thought your health was in serious danger, we will cover your care.
However, after the doctor has said that it was not an emergency, we will cover additional care
only if you get the additional care in one of these two ways:
You go to a network provider to get the additional care.
—or—
the additional care you get is considered “urgently needed services” and you follow the
rules for getting this urgent care (for more information about this, see Section 3.2 below)."


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## Bobbyb (Mar 9, 2014)

Travel Insurance only covers emergencies. No pre existing conditions. Insurance companies have heir own interpretations. Some consider an x ray of say your shoulder while at home a study. This means you would not be covered for that problem! Most Private Hospitals in Mexico do not accept foreign insurance. You must pay and apply for reimbursement. They will not let you out of the hospital until you have paid!


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## Ajijic Lady (Jan 19, 2009)

Bobbyb said:


> Travel Insurance only covers emergencies. No pre existing conditions. Insurance companies have heir own interpretations. Some consider an x ray of say your shoulder while at home a study. This means you would not be covered for that problem! Most Private Hospitals in Mexico do not accept foreign insurance. You must pay and apply for reimbursement. They will not let you out of the hospital until you have paid!


Most travel insurance covers pre-existing conditions IF you purchase the insurance within 14 days of buying the ticket. I am only looking for emergency coverage and no problem paying and getting reimbursed. 

I lived full-time in MX for 5 years (2008-2012) and we did have one emergency which we paid out of pocket and were reimbursed. At that time our insurance covered emergencies outside the US anytime; our current Medigap only covers us for emergencies during the 1st 60 days of trip outside the US.


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