| CRBJ Charter Member: |
|
|
| CRBJ Home > March 2006 | ||||||
Medical evacuation coverage can save big money and big worryBy Betty Stark
They were surprised by what they learned. It isn't terrorism, kidnapping, mugging or canceled flights that keep travelers awake at night. About 73 percent of travelers responding to the survey said their biggest fear was medical emergencies on the road. More than half worried about the possibility of suffering a serious injury, and about a third of the respondents feared being laid up by an acute illness such as a heart attack or stroke while out of the country. It's no surprise that most travelers surveyed said that if they faced a medical crisis, they would want to be returned to a hospital in the U.S. or at least to the nearest advanced medical facility. What is surprising is how few travelers said they have the necessary procedures in place to make certain this happens. Given the often staggering cost of a medical evacuation - potentially $40,000 to $100,000 depending on medical complexities and geographic obstacles - ignoring the need can be shortsighted. Frequent business travelers and companies that routinely send travelers to the far reaches of the globe should recognize that there is greater risk on the road than at home and prepare for emergencies. A good place to begin is a review of existing personal and corporate health insurance coverage. While most plans do not cover expenses incurred outside the U.S., including medical evacuation, a thorough policy review establishes a starting point for assessing needs. From there, a look at the offerings of several medical evacuation companies is in order. Important note: medical evacuation coverage is not health insurance. It covers the cost of returning injured or ill travelers to a quality medical facility. The cost of returning the traveler home once able to leave the hospital is generally not included. International SOS, the biggest player in the well-populated medical evacuation industry, works with companies to bring home Americans who have suffered an accident or illness while traveling out of the country. Sometimes the logistics can be daunting, particularly when the traveler is in a remote location not easily accessible by aircraft. The SOS staff helps coordinate the myriad details for subscribers. Travelers and trip arrangers who are International SOS members can take advantage of planning services by logging on to the organization's Web site (www.internationalsos.com). Personal consultation is also available, along with destination reports. Worldwide, travelers will have access to International SOS' 22 clinics, help with medical appointments and guarantee of payment, and, in an emergency, arrangements for an air ambulance and evacuation to the nearest quality medical facility. SOS has its own fleet of state-of-the-art "flying critical care units" poised to depart from Germany, Russia, South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Singapore, China and Papua, New Guinea. Costs per day can vary depending on the type of coverage and the number of participants. Stevens Point-based Travel Guard International (www.travelguard.com) offers a series of packages and rates: a per-trip fee, an annual membership, or comprehensive travel insurance that includes the cost of evacuation. The first two packages cover evacuation to the hospital of choice while the comprehensive travel insurance option guarantees transport to the nearest quality medical facility. MedjetAssist (www.medjetassist.com) offers programs that are considered to be among the most comprehensive. The company allows the patient and/or his or her physician to decide which hospital the patient will go to. Individual, family and group rates are available and when compared to the cost of an evacuation by air ambulance, the annual fee is nominal. Per-trip coverage is also available. Some gold and platinum credit card programs also offer varying degrees of medical evacuation assistance. Rather than assume that the coverage is sufficient, include credit card programs in the review of medical coverage for travelers. travelingwriter1@aol.com madison.com ©2009 Capital Newspapers. All rights reserved. |
|
|||||
