Life Sweeping

Safe Overseas Travel

When planning a trip to a country outside of the United States it is prudent to assume that your current private medical insurance that is working well for you in the United States will not be adequate nor even something that you can use internationally. You should consider including in your preparation for international travel the possibility of needing medical care while you or your family are outside the United States. Chances are, your choice of health insurance was made based on the assumption that you will get sick or have an accident that requires you to invoke its financial coverage for medical services received inside the United States.

Before your embark on your international trip is the time to think about, investigate and choose global medical insurance that meets your assumptions about the possibility of needing medical while you or your family are outside the United States – and the assumptions you make about global medical care should include some additional items that you don’t have to think about when choosing health insurance coverage for when you are at home.

To get started, it helps to base your assumptions for global medical care on the medical services you might need instead of simply considering financial coverage for medical care abroad.

For example, you may have global financial coverage with an indemnity health insurance plan but how will you know to find and select a doctor or hospital or other medical service in a foreign country – one you may be visiting for the first time? How do you find a doctor that can speak English? Can you be assured that the doctor you use will accept your insurance coverage in lieu of payment at the time services are performed? What about a dental accident? Same thing – where do you find the right dentist for your foreign visit situation? Also – what if you needed medical evacuation back to the United States?

Once you understand the possible medical scenarios you could find yourself or a family member in while visiting a new country, search for companies that provide global medical services, not just indemnity coverage for fees while you are out of the United States. Look for a global medical services plan that provides 24 hour, 7 days a week customer support that is responsive and caring. Ask if there is a network of doctors, hospitals and other medical service providers where you can be assured that you will not have to pay the fees for services upfront and out of your pocket. Understand how medical evacuation back to the United States would be handled and what costs you would be out of pocket and when you would have to pay.

In summary, a vacation overseas doesn’t mean that your possibility of serious illness or major accident will take a vacation too. Think about the medical situations that are possible for you and your family and look for services that can respond like you need to these. From there, you can at least make an informed decision with your family about the medical risks you are willing to take when compared against the cost for global medical services that could be made available while traveling internationally.