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| The Basics | Globetrotters, make sure you're covered
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For long stays overseas, you can't rely on HMOs, Medicare and ordinary health insurance plans. Here's why global medical insurance is a must.
By insure.com
The real-life horror stories abound. An American has a massive heart attack in Africa and a special team of medical experts must fly in to evacuate him. The cost: $280,000.
A woman breaks her back while in Kenya. The cost to stabilize her, lease a private Lear jet with medical staff, and evacuate her: $74,000.
Those two are lucky. They had expatriate insurance, which covers the costs of emergency medical evacuation to Western hospitals that have the equipment and expertise to care for them.
Now, consider the case of another American woman who contracted a tapeworm while in Singapore and subsequently developed a brain infection. She had to return to the United States for expert care. The problem: She bought her health insurance from a foreign company while abroad, and it didn't cover treatment in America.
Had she known her options, she could have bought an expatriate health insurance plan that covers medical care both overseas and back home.
Expatriate insurance tackles special needs
Expatriate insurance, also known as global or international medical insurance, is a specialized type of health insurance designed specifically for people on extended stays outside of the United States. Expatriates are people who leave their homeland for extended periods of travel or residency abroad, generally for more than six months and often for many years.
Besides eliminating problems with geographic limits and the closed provider networks set by U.S. managed-care plans, expatriate insurance addresses the other special needs of travelers who must cope with foreign health care systems: language translation; foreign currency exchange; transportation to Western treatment centers; and a variety of cultural issues.
The State Department warns of the risks of having inadequate health coverage when you travel: It is wise to review your health insurance policy before you travel. In some places, particularly at resorts, medical costs can be as high as or higher than in the United States. If your insurance policy does not cover you abroad, it is strongly recommended that you purchase a policy that does. There are short-term health insurance policies designed specifically to cover travel.
Other health plans fall short
Your American health insurance plan is not intended to cover lengthy trips out of the country. HMOs, for instance, while covering emergency room treatment anywhere, generally offer other coverage only through networks of doctors in your own state. Preferred provider organizations (PPOs) cover a greater portion of your medical costs only if you go to doctors in the network, and again, the networks are usually local. And Medicare? It doesn't cover any health insurance expenses incurred outside the United States.
You can't necessarily count on travel insurance, either. Travel insurance typically has a six-month limit on benefits. Thus, if you break your leg during your seventh month of travel, you're out of luck. Even if you were injured during your third month, if your treatment continues past the six-month mark, you could become responsible for the medical expenses thereafter.
If you opt to buy expatriate insurance from a foreign company once you're already overseas, it's not likely to do you any good if you need to return stateside.
$10,000 for evacuation
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends bringing certain documentation when you travel. If the health insurance policy provides coverage outside the United States, travelers should be advised to carry both the insurance policy identity card (as proof of insurance) and a claim form, the CDC advises.
The CDC points out failing to make sure you have the right coverage can be a costly mistake. Although some health insurance companies will pay customary and reasonable hospital costs abroad, very few will pay for medical evacuation to the United States. Medical evacuation can easily cost $10,000 or more, depending on the location and medical condition.
Multiple choices
Deciding which expatriate plan to buy depends on you and your family's personal needs, finances, and travel itinerary. If you're heading for London rather than the farthest reaches of Antarctica, you can probably do with less than $150,000 in emergency-evacuation coverage. If you're taking your family to Germany for two years, you might want to consider wellness coverage, especially for your children.
It's probably a good idea to make a detailed list of all the features you definitely need in a plan, those you'd like, and those you can do without. Perusing the Internet, where many brokers list plan benefits, might help.
To buy health plans like this, you can expect to fill out a rather lengthy application form, usually three or four pages. You'll have to list any "medical impairments" you or family members have, probably for the previous 10 years.
Pricing is varied and hinges on your desired menu of benefits, among other factors. Some plans might charge more depending on the area of the world you'll be living in or visiting. Experts caution against shopping on price alone, because if a product is much less expensive than others, it probably has major exclusions.
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