Canadian Snowbirds and Health Insurance
My husband and I are in our late 60's and have recently developed a couple of health issues which impact on our travel to the US. Our Blue Cross medical travel insurance plans have a 90 day pre-exis...
Forum Discussion
This is a problem many of us face. Some things to think about:
1) Check with the insurance carrier to what exactly the policy says about the 90 day pre-existing conditions. With ours (Sun Life), the pre-existing condition only applies to the specific ailment. For example, last year, my wife had pneumonia in November just before we were planning to head down to Arizona. We decided to risk going knowing that any lung problems would not be covered. Well we had not been down there for more than 2 weeks when my wife fell on a hike and broke her knee cap. We had to fly back to Canada for surgery. Although she did have a pre-existing lung problem, it did not affect her coverage for her knee.
2) Carefully assess the true risk of having another problem with the same condition that falls under the 90 day issue. If your feel that everything is fine and you are stable, consider going south anyway. Many do this.
3) If you have an issue as above, increase your monitoring and be prepared to return home immediately before complications start. For example, with my wife's lung problem last year, we purchased a blood oxygen reader that clipped on her finger. We routinely checked her O2 levels and were prepared to have her fly home at the first indication of a problem.
4) Make use of the urgent care centers for testing. You can have many tests done for reasonable cost (i.e. chest x-rays, blood testing, etc ... even an MRI). This can be a great help in monitoring your condition. Yes, it will cost you, but in my mind, it is worth it to get out of winter!! And at the first sign of a problem, head for home. Don't wait to see if it stabilizes or gets worse. Flights are cheap and you can always come back if it is not a serious problem.
It is all about risk assessment and management. Understand what your policy actually states about coverage and be aware of your condition and potential complications.
Good luck ....
1) Check with the insurance carrier to what exactly the policy says about the 90 day pre-existing conditions. With ours (Sun Life), the pre-existing condition only applies to the specific ailment. For example, last year, my wife had pneumonia in November just before we were planning to head down to Arizona. We decided to risk going knowing that any lung problems would not be covered. Well we had not been down there for more than 2 weeks when my wife fell on a hike and broke her knee cap. We had to fly back to Canada for surgery. Although she did have a pre-existing lung problem, it did not affect her coverage for her knee.
2) Carefully assess the true risk of having another problem with the same condition that falls under the 90 day issue. If your feel that everything is fine and you are stable, consider going south anyway. Many do this.
3) If you have an issue as above, increase your monitoring and be prepared to return home immediately before complications start. For example, with my wife's lung problem last year, we purchased a blood oxygen reader that clipped on her finger. We routinely checked her O2 levels and were prepared to have her fly home at the first indication of a problem.
4) Make use of the urgent care centers for testing. You can have many tests done for reasonable cost (i.e. chest x-rays, blood testing, etc ... even an MRI). This can be a great help in monitoring your condition. Yes, it will cost you, but in my mind, it is worth it to get out of winter!! And at the first sign of a problem, head for home. Don't wait to see if it stabilizes or gets worse. Flights are cheap and you can always come back if it is not a serious problem.
It is all about risk assessment and management. Understand what your policy actually states about coverage and be aware of your condition and potential complications.
Good luck ....
