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EMERGENCY TRAVEL
HEALTH INSURANCE
Travel medical insurance is coverage that you purchase when
you travel outside of your
province/country of residence.
While most provincial or health plans can be used
when
you are traveling domestically. There
are usually limitations or restrictions to treatments
received out of country. There could be a maximum dollar
limit paid for hospital or a
Doctor’s care, severely
restricted dollar payouts etc..
Do you travel on business out of the country? Go south to
escape the Winter or are you
a visitor to Canada.
Immigrating, or seeking employment in Canada? Anytime you
leave
your country of residence without supplemental
emergency travel health insurance -even
for just a few
hours- you're taking a risk.
If you get sick unexpectedly, or have an accident while
you're away, many health services
charge more for out of
country patients than for residents. .
In these cases, you'll be responsible for paying the
difference in costs...unless you have
purchased specialized
coverage- Travel Health Insurance.
In many cases. Employer and card plans can have
fairly strict definitions and that limited
payment options. Employee plans can apply the
travel insurance claim against lifetime
deductibles. Most
cards won’t cover those aged 65 and older. In fact, even if
you are covered
under your card or employer plan. In many
cases they won’t allow you to extend coverage
beyond the
contractual time limits out of province/country with other
coverage.
Emergency assistance services and direct payment services
are specialized and important part
of a travel insurance
package. Employer plans are generally week in this area.
Even if you
have basic coverage you may wish to purchase
supplemental travel insurance just for these
services.
There are two types of plans when it comes to payment-
Direct and Reimbursement.
Reimbursement plans are a poor
choice, not just because they require you to pay upfront,
but because in essence it is like writing a blank cheque to
the health care provider. Billing
errors (double billing,
incorrectly bundled billing and over charges etc.) are very
common.
Resolving these errors after you have returned home can be,
very confusing and stressful.
A direct payment plan will
a) take care of the payments and
b) deal with hassles associated with complex medical
billing.
Why are specialized emergency assistance services important?
They refer you to the appropriate health care provider for
your condition. They will monitor
your condition, arrange for air
ambulance services, communicate with family and friends back
home. In short they specialize in logistics issues that are
unique to dealing with a medical
emergency that spans two
countries. (Your home country and where the medical
emergency
occurred.)
Maybe, maybe not.
Short term coverage is very inexpensive, and a small price
to pay for knowing that you are
covered.
Long term coverage is more expensive, but you can bring the
cost down by opting for a high
deductible or
co-insurance.
If you recognize that there are holes in your basic coverage
or are unsure.
Then spending a few
bucks for supplemental travel insurance
is by no means a waste of money.
If your plan has a deductible, then that
means you are responsible for paying the dollar amount
of
the deductible first. The insurer will pay the rest. This does not invalidate the direct payment
of bills, it
just means that, when the dust settles you are responsible
for the deductible.
Co-Payment is a formula for working out "who owes what" A
70/30 co-payment usually means
that 70% of the bill is the
responsibility of the insurer, 30% of the bill is the
responsibility of
the individual.
(as a general rule, the first number relates to what the
insurer will pay, though not always)
Sometimes the two concepts are combined to control costs.
You should bear in mind that the
order in which these two
concepts are applied will affect the ultimate pay out.
Using a $10,000 claim with $1,000 deductible and 70/30
co-pay.
1. Deductible first, Co-pay second.
$10,000 - $1,000 = $9,000
Insurer pays 70% = $6,300
Individual pays 30% + Deductible = $3,700
2. Co-Pay first, deductible second.
$10,000 X 70% = $7,000
Minus deductible of $1,000
Insurer pays $6,000
Individual pays $4,000
Different plans have different rules, so check with
your insurer to see how they handle it.
Pre-existing conditions:
If you have any pre-existing conditions, these may affect
your ability to get travel insurance,
or the type of
coverage available to you.
Simply put, a pre-existing condition is a medical condition
that existed before the policy was
bought and/or
before you left your country.
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