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As travelers plan for an international journey, medical emergencies often top their list of concerns. Consider including travel health insurance with emergency medical coverage as part of their trip planning process.

Travel insurance policies typically use a reimbursement model and offer benefits up to plan limits, including preexisting condition protection in some instances.

Medical Evacuation

Medevac (med evac) coverage ensures you arrive at the appropriate hospital in case an accident or illness strikes while traveling, usually as part of a comprehensive travel insurance plan but also available as an add-on from companies like Medjet.

Medjet is a membership program that offers travelers elevated evacuation coverage by filling in gaps left by health or travel insurance and platinum level credit cards. They provide bedside-to-bedside air medical transport and repatriation of your choice domestically or internationally, including repatriation of organ donors domestically or internationally. Some policies offer bedside visit benefits which cover costs related to having family or support people come visit you at hospital; make sure to read all details as this coverage may have minimum hospital stay requirements as well as preexisting condition exclusions apply; while others only cover airfare instead of providing accommodations.

Hospital of Choice

When medical emergencies arise, travel insurance companies like https://auras.insure/ often arrange transport to a hospital that best meets your needs - known as "hospital of choice." For example, suppose you fall ill with typhoid fever while visiting La Paz, Mexico - after calling the 24-hour Emergency Assistance line, an Assistance coordinator immediately dispatches an ambulance from your hotel and transports you directly to a modern hospital in La Paz's capital city.

International travelers require this coverage as their US health plans often provide limited or no coverage abroad and Medicare doesn't generally cover foreign healthcare costs. Travel medical plans can be found by searching for policies with Emergency Medical Coverage benefits; many of them come as part of comprehensive travel insurance packages or as standalone policies.

Pre-existing Condition Coverage

Many travel medical insurance policies provide coverage for preexisting conditions that present acute symptoms during travel, though this feature is less prevalent. To take advantage of it, however, a policy must be purchased within a specified window before travel and you should be medically fit to travel at that time of policy purchase.

Travel insurance companies can be invaluable resources for helping travelers navigate healthcare systems abroad, often providing help with communicating with doctors, translating language services, emergency transportation arrangements and billing issues. Furthermore, family members can rest assured that their loved one is receiving top quality treatment available.

I highly advise all travelers, particularly those with preexisting medical conditions or who plan extended international travel, to consider purchasing a comprehensive travel medical plan. You might find it more affordable than you expect and may save yourself from financial disaster should an unexpected medical emergency occur abroad. Click here for a personalized quote tailored specifically to your trip!

Trip Cancellation

Travel cancellation coverage reimburses nonrefundable expenses you pre-paid but cannot reclaim from. It generally covers a percentage of your total trip cost; depending on your specific policy, length of coverage, and destination of trip, this amount could range between 10-33% of total cost.

Covered reasons for pre-departure cancellation vary by plan, but generally include sickness, injury or death of either yourself, a traveling companion, non-traveling family members; inclement weather that hinders travel to your destination; terrorist acts near or at your travel location and mandatory evacuation orders at or near your travel location. It also covers you if your employer or school revokes employment contracts/vacation time/jury duty summonses against you; natural disaster renders home uninhabitable and jury duty duties against you/you/tour accommodations uninhabitable due to natural disaster; plus any contractual agreements/vacance agreements made that could make travel arrangements uninhabitable (inclement weather/terrorism at or near destination/travel destination/mandatory evacuation orders/mandatory evacuation orders being enforced against you/tour destination/departure/returning away).

An affordable travel medical plan with emergency medical coverage and trip cancellation benefits is the best way to protect the investment in an expensive international trip. These can be found through travel insurance providers or packaged with other products such as credit cards.