SanDiegogirl

There is a thread in this forum about a woman whose child was taken into ER in the UK and then admitted overnight. She was charged over 1K GBP.

Note that while ER treatment( just in the ER department) is free of charge, admission is not, and while some medical insurance policies say they cover overseas travel you usually have to a) pay and get re-imbursed and b) the insurance company only pays out of network so you end up paying a whole lot more.


The NHS (apart from ER department) is not free to non residents.

Jerseygirl

Our U.S. healthcare insurance covers us when traveling overseas. In fact we found it to be better than when we are in the U.S.

A couple of years ago when on holiday I was hospitalized for a week. Hubby got a call asking if we were satisfied with the care...did I wish to be moved to another facility or repatriated? When we got the bill...hubby scanned it and the full amount was refunded within the week.

Giantaxe

Mine covers me out of network, but... it covers emergency care (including being admitted) just like it would cover me here, with a $100 deductible.

I do agree that people should carefully review their health insurance coverage before deciding whether they need travel insurance.

SanDiegogirl

Wow.... sounds good.. Which insurance company are you with? Is it a company scheme or your own individual one?

Jerseygirl

Aetna...company scheme.

SanDiegogirl

I'm on Medicare - which definitely does not pay for overseas medical costs.

Must contact my secondary, supplementary insurance to see if it would do so.

Jerseygirl

My hospital bill was approx $30K...so yes one really should make sure there is adequate coverage whilst overseas. The bill had to be settled before I was discharged...I would think this is common procedure.

SanDiegogirl

Yikes........ good you had plenty on your credit card then........

Giantaxe

Many Medicare Plus plans do, if that is what you are referring to. That's going to be my approach, once I reach Medicare age.

Mrs Danvers

I took my daughter to a walk in clinic in the UK when she had a cold and flare up of asthma. They told me they would need £60 up front which I was going to give them. They did have an NHS record on her which was about 10 years old at the time.

Then when I went to pay the receptionist said she had no idea how to charge me and so didn't.

If you don't want to remove them yourself I suggest you find a walk in clinic in the UK and pay the small amount for them to do it.

thistlehollyberry

When removing staples it is important to first only remove every other one - just in case incision has not healed completely.

robin1234

I'll be moving over to Medicare in two weeks time, the beginning of the month when I turn 65.

As it happens, I'm now resident in the UK so I'm under the NHS umbrella. In the US, I have Part A, Part B for $105 per month, and a Medicare Advantage plan ($0 premium) that has foreign coverage for emergencies ... but, lifetime max of $50,000. I see that as an attractive bullet point to bring in customers, but not really very substantial coverage.

As for Medicare Supplement plans, which are standardized by Medicare in terms of what they offer, most offer 80% coverage for foreign emergencies with a $50,000 lifetime limit.

I suppose you could rely on the $50,000, then start buying additional travel insurance if/when you've used your $50,000!

mikelincs

The one thing I would check on your cover if it is offered, is, what about repatriation, may not be covered by the policy you get coverage from, and even if overseas travel is included, that may be excluded. If you did need to be repatriated it is likely to cost many thousands of dollars, Spain to the UK cost £10,000 some 8 years ago, so you might get some idea from that. That is certainly something covered by travel insurances. Many UK people risk just using the EHIC card for EU countries, then after they try some stupid drunken stunt they leave their parents facing crippling bills. Better safe than sorry as they say.

Giantaxe

Medicare supplement plans have that $50k mandated by the government. I don't believe there's any mandated limit for Medicare Advantage plans. I know when I looked a while back I found plans with a higher limit.