Medical Insurance

[garyhaupt]

For those that travel with additonal purchased medical coverage....any tips?

I have had only one claim and it was handled promply and without troubles, but I will say..I had dotted my I's and crosed my T's. I had noted all past health issues and asked a few questions of the broker, while I was buying. Now, we use M/C Health Insurnace Services and find that the coverage costs are well below walk in pricing. We have 28 days of annual coverage with our card and then I add on if we or I am going for gone for more than that. The one clause that I used to worry about was the one that demands the insurance company be contacted prior to recieving any service. Our M/C plan doesn't have that clause, so I breath easier.


Gary Haupt

[moisheh]

Most travel insurance has changed in he last few years. Most now have a pre existing condition clause that is very restrictive. Some are 90 days but others can be 12 months. If you go to see your Dr. and he orders any tests that becomes a pre existing condition and the date of that test is what they use for your stability clause. Even if you don't answer a questionnaire or the questionnaire is a few simple questions ask for the actual policy and read the stability clause. A change in medication means both additional or reduction in meds. If you have a big claim they will go over all your medical records looking for an out. Manulife will refuse all coverage if one of your questions was answered incorrectly. Even if that question has nothing to do with your claim. If you buy your insurance in say August but don't leave until November ( you can get a discount) and there is some sort of emergency in between August and November you have to inform the insurance company. Failure to do so could nullify your coverage.

Moisheh

[almcc]

We are in the very fortunate position of having out-of-country coverage for 6 months with pre-existing medical conditions covered (and no questionnaire)as part of my retiree benefits. The coverage is 80% for the first $10,000 of bills then 100% coverage for costs over $10,000 meaning our total liability is capped at $2,000. The plan is through Sun Life.

I'm wondering if some companies who have coverage for employees would let their retirees pay for out-of-country coverage as the rates would be better than individual policies with better (less restrictive) plans. It may be appropriate to ask!

[SideHillSoup]

We are going to be retiring in a few months. We will have full extended medical all but eyes and teeth. My extended health after I retire will not cover me in some provinces and some states in the U.S., so we asked A friend of ours who is in the finaincil and Heath / life insurance field. He has us looking a a yearly plan which covers is for 60 days out of province with a top off section where you pay a little more to stay out of province more than 60 days. I think he said it was about $360 per year for the two of us.
Now don't jump all over me if I have a few details wrong and don't ask the name of the outfit I am camping right now and all the paper work is at home.
He also uses the same company and spends most of his winters in the U.S. And Mexico he is 78 and his top of fee for beeing out of province for 120 days was $122.
Because he only had a small pamflit with him at the time I have asked for more into to be sent to us, so time will tell,
Soup.

[garyhaupt]

luckyd wrote:
We also live in BC and use Pacific Blue Cross.
We have both dental and extended health through our employer
so this gives us a 10% reduction.
It is from our own province.
They have access to all our medical records and we found
nothing hidden.
They looked at everything we had doubts about and said we were
OK and would not be considered as "existing conditions".

We also found them to be cheaper than any other plus we get a
reduction each year we have no claim.

Does your Blue Cross also cover you for out of country expenses? Like..if you were to take a trip to L.A. and had to receieve medical care...does Blue Cross cover that?



Gary Haupt

[luckyd]

We also live in BC and use Pacific Blue Cross.
We have both dental and extended health through our employer
so this gives us a 10% reduction.
It is from our own province.
They have access to all our medical records and we found
nothing hidden.
They looked at everything we had doubts about and said we were
OK and would not be considered as "existing conditions".

We also found them to be cheaper than any other plus we get a
reduction each year we have no claim.

[portliz]

If you have a serious medical emergency be sure to ask to see what the doctors have written in your medical file. What you say and what they hear and write down could be very different. Better yet ask for copies. Clarify and ask for changes if necessary. This goes for anyone who records information in your medical file.

We don't travel unless we have not been to the doctor for 90 days for anything. 90 days stable clause. In doing so our medical records are stable for the 90 days. We have changed our departure dates in order to meet this stability clause.

We have had minor emergencies handled with ease. Sent in claim and check arrived quickly.

Also get a copy of your claim form BEFORE you travel to make sure you have the information you need to file the claim with you. If you are away for a long period ( snowbirds ) you may need to send the claim from the US. Be prepared.

[Community Alumni]

I'm down to 15 days coverage on my gold credit card due to age. Beyond that we're fortunate to have a very close personal friend who is an insurance agent exclusively for travel insurance.

Even though she a close family friend, she goes through the pre-condition questionnaire each time we either top up of coverage or look for new coverage. It's very easy to want to skip all the questions but having had to change some medications at times, I know that I would have missed something.

It is also too easy to want to brush off a med change or discount something that you may have mentioned to your doctor in the past.

... Eric