More information about medical insurance worldwide:
- travelers medical insurance
- global medical insurance
- student medical insurance
- expatriate medical
insurance
- group medical coverage
overseas
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Global Medical Insurance
A good global medical insurance policy will cover you for health care expenses while you travel, study or live overseas. When shopping for a policy, you should carefully review the benefits, exclusions, and premium costs of several different insurance plans before making your final choice. You will also find policies designed specifically for vacation travelers, business travelers, students and expatriates.
The specific out-of-pocket costs you will incur if you need medical care will depend on the amount of your deductible and the percentage of medical costs the insurance plan will pay. Most plans will determine a "Usual, Reasonable and Customary" fee, and pay a percent of that fee rather than the billed amount.
Some global medical insurance policies will have different benefits, depending on the country in which the services are rendered. They also may (or may not) cover medical evacuation out of the country, or the return of your mortal remains.
Of particular importance is the clause of your insurance contract that mentions pre-existing conditions. If you have a chronic illness such as diabetes or Parkinson's, many carriers will exclude the particular diagnosis from coverage for a specified period of time. A shorter exclusionary period will lower your out-of-pocket costs.
Some carriers, like the MultiNational Underwriters, offer policies with no exlusion period for pre-exisitng conditions. Their Platinum policy
will cover pre-existing conditions the same as any other Injury or Illness if disclosed on application and not excluded or limited by a Rider. However, be sure to check the fine print - another policy offered by the same company, in their Atlas Series insurance for travelors
, will only cover the acute or emergency onset of pre-existing conditions. Other companies will offer no coverage at all for pre-existing diagnoses in the first 24 months of your policy, so there are clearly very large differences in the benefits offered by different global medical insurance carriers.
Worldwide Health Insurance Home Page
Before traveling, you may want to visit the US Department of State site for Medical Information for Americans Traveling Abroad. You'll find a list of doctors and hospitals in other countries, as well as helpful information about emergency preparedness, evacuation plans, and travel insurance companies.
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©2006 Jonni Good
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