Originally Posted by
SA_robert
I have traveled all over the world, but have never encountered the following scenario. I am very aware of insurance options, evacuation back to the US, etc. I have excellent US insurance which covers problems in foreign countries.
But, what happens if I become seriously, even terminally, ill in a foreign country? I understand that this varies from county to country, but let's use France and Italy as examples. How do those countries handle such situations? Who pays for care? Supposing one's condition is terminal- do they throw you out to avoid the costs or do they let you remain and just accept insurance payment?
Fewer and fewer overseas health care providers will bill US insurance for you and most require you to pay and then submit for reimbursement. The reason is that US insurance companies require paperwork which all USA health care providers can at least understand and most can readily process (although a growing # won't).
The real issue arises when you need care which either cannot be provided locally or cannot be provided up to par locally and you need an airlift out. Depending on where you are and where you are headed, that can run over $100K.
If you travel a lot, it's worth having all of this figured out in advance: 1) what, if anything will my existing health insurance pay? 2) what other options are there through my employer (many policies designed to cover work-related travel only, actually extend to leisure travel as well under certain circumstances); 3) should I purchase individual trip insurance, an annual policy or something inbetween and what exactly do I want covered?