poollounger

I have elderly family wishing to visit a sister in Vancouver,travelling from the UK. A married couple of 79 and 83. In very good health.. they went with me for a two mile walk over the Lancashire moors a week ago, they do have mild arrythmia and angina. The cheapest insurace quote I can find that will cover them for existing condtions is almost £1200. If they travelled without it would they get any emergency treatment should they need it, perhaps enough to stabilise themtill they return home ? This is what Canadians on vacation in the UK would receive as a minimum on the UK NHS.

macadian

They would receive emergency treatment on demand in the event they needed it whilst in Canada, however, they WOULD be billed for it. No freebies here. I would not advise ANYONE to visit Canada without Health insurance..... Stabilise? what if that took a long time? For travellers, particularly the elderly for obvious reasons, insurance is a MUST!!!!! Pay now, or potentially pay a LOT more later.

debbiem

bills will include everything lol, including the ambulance costs if they needed to be picked up and didn't get themselves to the hospital.
really wouldn't recommend going anywhere without travel insurance.

on one trip back from Canada we ended up with the aircraft turning back to Baffin Island to drop off a young woman who suffered from arrythmia and had several heart attacks on the plane. It took an hour and a half to get her off the aircraft as every time they moved her she crashed again... you just don't know who, when or where - a bit irresponsible to be even considering no insurance imho... and not a great way of providing the best chance of recovery for an elderly relative with (if the worst happened) a bill for hundreds of thousands of pounds looming and no way to pay it...

there should be cheaper insurance out there even for those with ongoing conditions - have tried saga or someone likely to have experience?

macadian

As a rule, once one get into there 70's, travel insurance gets very difficult to come by and very expensive . A neighbour (early 70's) is doing all his travelling now as when he reaches 75 it becomes either unavailable.... or unaffordable...

dbd33

My elderly father couldn't get insurance for a visit to Canada (over 80, diabetic, dodgy ticker, etc.) In the end he got it, at a sensible price but with some exclusions, through this broker:

http://www.pucherinsurance.com/

He was still at risk of suffering from one of the excluded conditions but felt he could live with that exposure.

ukcanuck

-C$530 for ambulance trip to ER
-ER visit fee
-Cardiologist consult C$300 (that was 1999 so would guess price has gone up)
-hospital stay - depends on what ward what meds/procedures charged per day and they will charge for everything down to box of tissues
-extended travel dates and changing travel arrangements due to illness
-extra cost to travel due to special needs while actually flying
-prescription meds after discharge
-repatriation to UK if unable to fly on own without med escort due to condition

ALL charged for

typical scenario is chest pain unrelieved by GTN, ambulance call trip to ER, ER fee, cardio fee, meds given and prescribed discharged - looking at C$1000 easy and thats for a non complicated chest pain relieved while in the ER.
Remember your famliy will be exerting themselves, eating more than they are used to, eating slightly different foods, their meds will be screwed for the first couple of days due to time change so if they are on long lasting nitrates this will be altered till they get back into the swing of times taken etc.

My advice would be to get the insurance and you are covered for what you know about given their med history. Then you have what you can't anticipate such as a simple slip trip and they break their hip - I so hope that doesn't happen as they sound like adventurous types - or anything else.

Please get your insurance as I hate seeing travellers without insurance worrying about cost when they or their loved ones are ill.

Get the insurance and have a trouble free worry free holiday - they will love it

you know the old adage - if you have it you won't need it

poollounger

Thanks for all your replies. My gut instinct was to tell them to get the insurance and to hell with the cost. Too many people spend a fortune going to funerals overseas, better to spend the money and see people alive.
They have been several times before, but of course they were younger then. Saga was the most expensive...£1900 for a policy I found elsewhere for £1200.

Auld Yin

Try this company. It is based in California. I know people (elderly) who have used it to much satisfaction. I tried a quick calculation using your info but not including vacation expenses and coverage including existing conditions came out at $350 per person. It's worth a look for you.
As other posters have said, they should not come here without medical coverage. The emergency treatment may well turn into a massive medical bill to say nothing of special transportation back to the UK. A lady I know had to have her mother transported back to the UK about 15 years ago at a cost, then, of GBP 11K plus an equivalent Canadian medical bill.

https://www.csatravelprotection.com/quotestep.do?step=1

Aviator

If I recall correctly, a few years ago an woman from Britain fell ill in Vancouver, their insurance tried not to pay up and they were on the hook for somewhere in the region of $200,000. Eventually the insurance coughed up after their MP got involved, but not before a lot of anxiety.

If the patient is not able to pay, there is a strong possibility that the next of kin or relative is going to be asked to guarantee payment. Still at least the equity in the house will come in useful.

My suggestion, don't travel without insurance and check to see what is covered and what is not. Tell the insurer everything, in writing if it is not written on the policy, leaving out small details to save a few $ can cost dearly. Not declaring one condition can invalidate the whole policy. Check with a broker or buy from a respected company, perhaps get recommendations. Cheap insurance that does not pay out is not worth much.

Not having insurance, especially as the risk increases is much like paying Russian roulette. I know of people who travel without insurance and proudly tally up how much they have saved, that can soon be lost in one incident. They do buy lottery tickets though, but never mention how much they lost. I believe the chances of having an accident or illness while traveling are higher than winning the lottery.

Auld Yin

you can just walk away from the bills because you are from the UK.

Splain, please. Why the UK vs USA, France, Germany etc, etc, etc? Your post is further evidence of your windup activities. I you think for one nanosecond that a Canadian hospital wouldn't hand over a large debt to a collection agency in the UK then you are dreaming in technicolour.

Nicola N-A

Just wanted to let the OP know that my mum visited at Christmas and was taken seriously ill (she is only 60). I called her an ambulance (which saved her life) and she was in ICU for 2 weeks.

The bill from the amublance alone was $979. ICU was billed at $11,000 a day, that did not include the doctors, medication or any tests/xrays etc.

In total her bills came to almost $250,000!!!!!! A small price for her life, but a huge, huge cost that without insurance, I guess most of us wouldn't be able to afford.

Aviator

Dream on, they will come after you, no question. Anyone can sue you in court, even a foreign government in a court of your home country. If you think the government will let you walk away then you are seriously delusional.

clynnog

The OP has either got to be a major wind up artist or from a village that is missing somebody. Check out his other posts...they are usually like this...trying to encourage cheating the system etc....He reminds me of that Manc who had nothing nice to say about Canada and was forever moaning about his workmates who didn't want to get legless every worknight.

Rete

If they will see you at all. I got sick while on vacation in Halifax the hospital refused to see me even though I had the money to pay and US healthcare. Told me to go to a walk in clinic. Cost a fortune and the doctor refused to give me the meds I would have received in the States and I still had bronchotis when I returned home 6 days later and had to be placed on the right meds.

bzriddell

Yes: but they would have to pay in Canada.
When my Mum travelled with us, aged 92, we used SAGA insurance, from the UK, as she had osteoporasis - no problems.