Medical Travel Insurance Essentials – Travel Health Insurance for Americans With the rising costs of hospital and medical services, today’s traveler should think twice before departing on a vacation or business travel trip without having purchased travel health insurance. With the high cost of a medical emergency you will want to be sure to have travel medical insurance that provides comprehensive coverage and benefits. Without travel medical insurance, the cost of emergency medical care, prescription drugs or hospital care or emergency medical evacuation can be overwhelming. Planning a Trip Outside the United States? Why you need Travel Medical Insurance MEDEX – Travel Medical Insurance from $1.22 per day. American travelers who continue travel spending in today’s down economy should prepare for unexpected medical and security situations that could wipe out any money saved on their bargain vacation. Old and new destinations offering steep discounts may carry financial risks that travelers won’t find advertised. Many small islands and less-developed countries medical care is below international standards. Add in high local disease risks and expensive costs for emergency evacuation, and unprepared American travelers could quickly find themselves facing a financial emergency. If you are an American planning on traveling outside the United States, you will need to evaluate what health benefits coverage your government, employeer or private health insurance policy offers when you travel. When Injury or Illness Strikes Outside of the United States When American travelers get injured in a foreign country, they can face severe financial implications and have difficulty finding quality care. Medicare does not pay for any medical expense overseas and most domestic policies will force travelers to pay upfront and then submit for their claim after returning home, if they cover overseas medical care at all. Even when American travelers are able to gather enough funds to pay for treatment, they often find themselves in facilities that are ill-prepared to diagnose or treat appropriately. Smaller Caribbean islands suffer a lack of physicians and equipment, and other popular destinations can only handle basic care. Serious injuries and conditions requiring emergency medical evacuation can cost as much as $25,000 or more just to return a patient to the United States. If you are planning a vacation in resort areas in the Caribbean or Central and South America, don’t be blinded by the thrill of a great travel bargain – be sure to factor in travel medical insurance so that your discount holiday doesn’t end up being the most expensive trip of your life. Research your destination before you go, and find a solid company from which to purchase your travel insurance policy. Make sure the travel insurance company offers more than just medical insurance, and that they can assist you during an emergency to find the right doctors and hospitals, monitor your care, assist with language barriers and provide up-front bill payment. International travel involves risk. You may arrive at your destination to find that your luggage with personal items has disappeared. A personal emergency may necessitate your early return to your home country. You may be involved in a sports activity while at a resort that requires emergency dental care. A medical emergency may require hospitalization or even air evacuation. In most cases, your existing insurance will not provide adequate protection for these and other risks during overseas travel. Without an international travel insurance plan, you may be exposed to significant financial costs and debt. Selecting the best travel insurance company can help take the risks out of international travel, so that you can have an enjoyable – and worry-free trip. Finding Cheap Travel Insurance and Getting the Best Deal First, find out what, if any, travel medical insurance you may already have through an employer plan, or through a credit card that carries extra benefits. You may have some basic coverage which just needs a minimal extra travel insurance policy purchased for the specific trip. Or if you don’t have any or even basic out of country coverage, you’ll need to purchase a per-trip policy that covers the exact number of days you will be out of the United States. As in any other industry, there are travel insurance companies whose reputation stands out. MEDEX is the oldest and largest independently owned provider of global travel security and medical assistance in North America. All MEDEX travel medical insurance programs include 24-hour, multilingual support for everything from international prescription replacement to emergency medical evacuations. Plus the MEDEX Emergency Response Center has the experience to give you confidence – they handle nearly 30,000 cases a year in over 200 countries. MEDEX Insurance Services offers policies starting at $1.22/day and can include up to $500,000 in coverage for emergency medical expenses and evacuation.
