Traveling abroad once you are on Medicare

[rjn5656]

Wondering if you need additional health care supplement if you travel abroad once you reach medicare age. We have UHC Advantage and Aetna insurance plans now.

[Chatbrat]

When you travel overseas and especially in the Caribbean, its wise to get air -evac insurance

[TCRSO]

In addition to air ambulance insurance you will need to purchase travel insurance. this coverage has a limited time (last time we purchased I think 30 days was the max).

[mulligan]

My guess, to answer your original question, would be a medical facility in a foreign country would not want anything to do with medicare.You would have to pay for service and submit the claim when you get home.

[collie1228]

Yes, always. For a couple hundred dollars spent, you can get coverage for medical issues and transportation home by air medical transport, if required. It's a small price to pay. There are websites that will do the comparison shopping for you so that you can get the best deal for the coverage you want.

[LuvtheVillages]

Wondering if you need additional health care supplement if you travel abroad once you reach medicare age. We have UHC Advantage and Aetna insurance plans now.

Medicare does not pay for medical care outside the country. Whether your supplements do, you have to call your agent. We have Tricare for Life, which pays at its normal 80% rate.

The simplest answer is to buy the trip insurance. Read the fine print. You want it to pay for medical care and air ambulance and reimburse your fare if you are unable to go on the trip for various reasons. You can buy from your travel agent. Or better, search on the internet and get a better price.

[Carla B]

Look closely at your Medicare Advantage policy to see if it covers medical expenses while out of the U.S. Original Medicare does not pay for medical care out of the country. Some supplemental policies to Original Medicare (AARP UHC, for instance), will reimburse up to 80% for medical care. That is the insurance company doing the reimbursing, not Medicare.

The best thing to do in this case is to buy a travel insurance policy in which medical coverage is primary, not secondary. That way, the insurance company will go after your Medigap company so you won't have to. Comprehensive travel policies also include medical evacuation. insuremytrip.com is a good one to deal with.

[tophcfa]

Interesting topic, thanks for bringing it up. Something I never considered. Following thread closely.

[billethkid]

From the medicare web site:

https://www.medicare.gov/Pubs/pdf/11037-Medicare-Coverage-Outside-United-Stat.pdf

[cronin2]

We have a yearly travel insurance policy through Allianz which covers medical, rental cars, evacuation, trip cancellation, etc.

[Singerlady]

I bought an annual Allianz Global travel insurance policy for ALL my travels for the year. Not cheap but worth it. Got it at AAA. Peace of mind.

[crash]

My guess, to answer your original question, would be a medical facility in a foreign country would not want anything to do with medicare.You would have to pay for service and submit the claim when you get home.

Exactly correct and is why Ed at Yankee Trails says if someone can call you grandma or grandpa you need travel insurance.

My sister broke her hip in a fall in Italy and they would not let her leave the hospital until she paid her bill $50,000.

[Villagesgal]

I travel the world and buy the Allianz Global travel insurance that's good for a year. It is cheap compared to the medical bills you could be stuck with should you have a medical problem outside the US. Buy medical insurance.

[Marty411]

Yes

[CFrance]

Yes
Yes what?


It's a good idea to quote the post you are referring to, because lots of posts will come in at the same time, and readers may not know who you are answering.


For instance, if you are answering the original poster, your answer of "yes" is not accurate. Medicare will not insure you overseas.


However, maybe your response was to posts about Allianz Global?

[Villageswimmer]

I travel the world and buy the Allianz Global travel insurance that's good for a year. It is cheap compared to the medical bills you could be stuck with should you have a medical problem outside the US. Buy medical insurance.


What is the cost? I haven’t heard of this before.

[CFrance]

I travel the world and buy the Allianz Global travel insurance that's good for a year. It is cheap compared to the medical bills you could be stuck with should you have a medical problem outside the US. Buy medical insurance.
We did that once a few years ago. We had three separate overseas trips in one year. As I recall, we had to list the dates and possibly the flights--or something that proved we were actually making the trips. And we weren't covered when we were in the US. The price was very good, but I can't remember the name of the company.

[epoch]

We have Tricare for Life, which pays at its normal 80% rate.


Glad to hear that. I was wondering about the percentage they would pay.

Do you happen to know if the same holds true (the 80%) if a medicare advantage plan does not pay because the treatment is out-of-area?

[FenneyGuy]

Look closely at your Medicare Advantage policy to see if it covers medical expenses while out of the U.S. Original Medicare does not pay for medical care out of the country. Some supplemental policies to Original Medicare (AARP UHC, for instance), will reimburse up to 80% for medical care. That is the insurance company doing the reimbursing, not Medicare.

The best thing to do in this case is to buy a travel insurance policy in which medical coverage is primary, not secondary. That way, the insurance company will go after your Medigap company so you won't have to. Comprehensive travel policies also include medical evacuation. insuremytrip.com is a good one to deal with.

The best site I have found that explains trip insurance and to purchase trip insurance:

https://tripinsurancestore.com/

[Ecuadog]

I agree with Carla B (post #7), insuremytrip.com (https://www.insuremytrip.com/) is the web site that I use. It's easy to use, especially for comparing policy benefits. And yes, watch for those two important distinctions, "primary" and "secondary."

[LuvtheVillages]

Glad to hear that. I was wondering about the percentage they would pay.

Do you happen to know if the same holds true (the 80%) if a medicare advantage plan does not pay because the treatment is out-of-area?

Don't know - we have never been in this situation because we have original Medicare. I do know that if Medicare does not pay a charge, Tricare will not pay it either. One of the reasons that we will not take an Advantage plan.