Travel Products - Medical Evacuation While Traveling?




TWGirl
Mar 30, 09, 5:26 pm
Does anyone have experience with or know of medical evacuation services such as Medjet Assist? It seems different from a traditional travel insurance in that:

[B]No Medical Necessity
MedjetAssist members are transported without regard to medical necessity. This means members, as long as they are hospitalized as an inpatient, can choose to be transported to another hospital, even if the facility they are in is considered adequate. The choice is theirs. It’s that simple!

In contrast, health and travel insurance plans and platinum card benefits require that a transfer be medically required. In other words, as long as the care at a hospital is deemed adequate, transferring to another hospital is not an option.

Home Hospital
MedjetAssist flies individuals to their home hospital or hospital of their choice. The competition generally restricts transports to the nearest hospital that provides "appropriate care." This means individuals are taken to a hospital the shortest distance away that has adequate care, but not necessarily the best care.

MedjetAssist members, if hospitalized, do not have to worry about being transported to a nearby hospital in a foreign country that has only adequate medical care. Members choose if they want to fly home to their local hospital or hospital of their choice to receive the very best care and to be near their family.

No Cost Limits
MedjetAssist has no limit on the cost of a medical transport. Many companies and insurance plans place caps – some as low as $25,000 – on the total amount available for an air ambulance. But a medical transport between Europe and America can run more than $35,000. Middle East and South American flights range from $60,000 to $80,000. Transport from Asia often exceeds $100,000.

(http://www.medjetassist.com/membership/comparison.aspx)

It seems a very useful option (in addition to traditional travel insurance) for higher risk travelers (older travelers, children, etc). I am contemplating purchasing such services for my parents when they travel but I don't know what are the most reputable companies that provide such services. Does anyone have any recommendations?

Thank you very much.


Ocn Vw 1K
Mar 30, 09, 8:46 pm
Please follow the discussion in our Travel Products forum. Ocn Vw 1K, Moderator, TravelBuzz.

GadgetFreak
Mar 30, 09, 9:05 pm
Does anyone have experience with or know of medical evacuation services such as Medjet Assist? It seems different from a traditional travel insurance in that:

[B]No Medical Necessity
MedjetAssist members are transported without regard to medical necessity. This means members, as long as they are hospitalized as an inpatient, can choose to be transported to another hospital, even if the facility they are in is considered adequate. The choice is theirs. It’s that simple!

In contrast, health and travel insurance plans and platinum card benefits require that a transfer be medically required. In other words, as long as the care at a hospital is deemed adequate, transferring to another hospital is not an option.

Home Hospital
MedjetAssist flies individuals to their home hospital or hospital of their choice. The competition generally restricts transports to the nearest hospital that provides "appropriate care." This means individuals are taken to a hospital the shortest distance away that has adequate care, but not necessarily the best care.

MedjetAssist members, if hospitalized, do not have to worry about being transported to a nearby hospital in a foreign country that has only adequate medical care. Members choose if they want to fly home to their local hospital or hospital of their choice to receive the very best care and to be near their family.

No Cost Limits
MedjetAssist has no limit on the cost of a medical transport. Many companies and insurance plans place caps – some as low as $25,000 – on the total amount available for an air ambulance. But a medical transport between Europe and America can run more than $35,000. Middle East and South American flights range from $60,000 to $80,000. Transport from Asia often exceeds $100,000.

(http://www.medjetassist.com/membership/comparison.aspx)

It seems a very useful option (in addition to traditional travel insurance) for higher risk travelers (older travelers, children, etc). I am contemplating purchasing such services for my parents when they travel but I don't know what are the most reputable companies that provide such services. Does anyone have any recommendations?

Thank you very much.

I would check out International SOS. We use them when we are going anyplace out of the way, but they cover everything. We havent had to use their med-evac service, but they have it, but have had to use their other help. They were able to find me a US educated doctor in Zambia after doctors I talked to on the phone at their headquarters in PHL and their African headquarters in JHB decided I needed an exam before I could move on my own. Diagnosed as "severe gastroenteritis of an invasive nature" but that is another story. Also had them talk me through another bout of severe food poisoning in SE Asia with docs in the states and Hanoi. In that case we decided that over the phone was fine unless the symptoms changed. I have been extremely happy with their service. They put a doctor on the phone not just an answering service. They help decide what to do, ranging from "take two aspirin and call me in the morning" to med-evac. Just signed up with them again for an upcoming trip to Borneo.


cordelli
Apr 1, 09, 3:12 pm
Even more choices here

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/travel-products/887443-medical-emergency-evacuation-insurance.html



SEO by vBSEO ©2011, Crawlability, Inc.