Health Insurance

[Get-a-Life]

At the moment we are in Hong Kong and a friend of ours from Australia fell over last night and fractured his hip.

He does not have travel insurance and neither do we.

The public hospital has asked for a deposit of HK $33,000 to start treatment and they charge non-residents HK $3,300 per day.

Cannot even guess the cost of the operation and post op treatment.

How do other cruisers cover themselves for this sort of emergency?

[Ex-Calif]

That really sucks. Sorry for him.

In terms of options I don't think there are many. Does he have health insurance anywhere?

If he has an insurance somewhere that will eventually reimburse him you might try googling International SOS.

I don't know if they can help. As a big US company we subscribe to their service. They guarantee payments or make payments in advance to hospitals, assign case managers (doctors to advise you an treatment recommendations made by local doctors) and if necessary arrange medical evacuation.

They are definitely not cheap.

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by Get-a-Life

How do other cruisers cover themselves for this sort of emergency?

Hire and ambulance and get into Mainland china?

[Springbok]

Use INDY'S free French Medical Aid as offered but not explained on his $500/month post
Clyde

[Get-a-Life]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

Hire and ambulance and get into Mainland china?

Please read the question.

It had nothing to do with the current situation, it was "What do other cruisers do to cover this type of emergency?"

As for hiring a ambulance, he cannot even get out of bed and is heavily sedated with morphine, otherwise we would have had hom on a direct flight back to Aust.

Thanks for the other tips thus far.

[TabbyCat]

I don't sell health insurance myself, but you can get an on-line quote for overseas health insurance if you are a US citizens and will be outside the USA for 6 months for more, or for repatriation/travel insurance. Do a google search, or go to our website, IMIS Online Services.

[sww914]

I've never heard of any insurance that will cover something that happened before coverage started. Are you saying that you will cover a pre-existing condition or are you just trying to sell something?

[maxingout]

Health insurance is one of the biggest obstacles to going cruising for those who are over fifty years old. For those of us in the USA, the insurance rates are at extortionary levels.

My last year of cruising, I paid a premium of $10,000 for myself and wife, and we had a $5,000 deductible that was applied annually to each person that was insured. So I had to pay out $5,000 out of my pocket before the insurance company paid a single cent. Then we still paid 20% of the costs. I don't know why a person would want to go into organized crime to make money. They should start an insurance company.

I am a doctor, and I am ashamed of the state of health care in my own country. When I broke my wrist last year, it cost more than $10,000 to get it fixed.

Don't get sick in America or have an accident. Your cruise will be over, and it may even bankrupt you.

[osirissail]

Originally Posted by sww914

I've never heard of any insurance that will cover something that happened before coverage started. Are you saying that you will cover a pre-existing condition or are you just trying to sell something?

RTFPost - You can purchase "International Medical Insurance" coverage via the internet from many sources around the world. Just like all other forms of insurance, be it for your boat, your car, etc., you must purchase the coverage BEFORE you have an incident. I seriously doubt you can buy boat insurance coverage after your boat sinks. Same with medical insurance. You must plan ahead before you leave your home country to either pay for international coverage - or - accept the consequences financially and physically of any damage to your body/health.
- - Rates will dramatically vary depending upon the level of coverage you want and the region of the world. Coverage to include USA/Canada gets to be multiples of coverage excluding these areas. Additionally, some of the policies offered have exclusions for any medical needs for the first 6 months to a year (plus or minus) so again you have to plan ahead.
- - If your home country has national health coverage you may get a discount on the cost of using medical facilities in a different country which also has national medical/health coverage. Sometimes you can purchase from your home country's national health insurance a "rider" that will extend your coverage to selected other countries in the world. Again it means plan ahead.

[Get-a-Life]

Some good tips here that I will check out.

Thanks, we really want to get away again, but this incident has put a scare into us and I do not feel confident to go cruising without the necessary cover anymore.

Like most people, everything has a price and there is only so much left in the kitty.

Gets a bit tough when the "boss" tells me to make up my mind, I either want something for the boat or a steak for dinner, but I can't have both.

Cheers and thanks for the tips.

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by maxingout

Don't get sick in America or have an accident. Your cruise will be over, and it may even bankrupt you.

Sounds like the same thing is true in Hong Kong.

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by Therapy

Sounds like the same thing is true in Hong Kong.

The OP said they would be charged HK$3,300 a day. That is US$425. You can't fill out the paperwork for that amount in a US hospital. Keep it in perspective. The US system is just plain broken and it sounds like the Hong Kong system is a deal..

Paul L

[Get-a-Life]

Actually its not too bad a deal.

From what we understand at the moment, this includes everything. i.e. doctors, operation, etc.

Ron had his operation yesterday and they pinned his hip bone back together, now recovering and learning to like chinese cuisine.

I will keep everyone posted of the final outcome re;- expenses if anyone is interested?

I am willing to be corrected, but in Australia I think it's about $350 Aus. per day plus extras.

Cheers

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by Get-a-Life

...I am willing to be corrected, but in Australia I think it's about $350 Aus. per day plus extras.
Cheers

If you did this in the US and paid out of pocket without insurance, it would not surprise anyone in the field if the bill was greater than US$50,000. I had a friend who did a 10-day hospital stay including one minor surgery, >$100,000 in bills. Fortunately they has insurance.

Paul L

[SaucySailoress]

This is a very worrying thought. Last year I had a bad fall from a horse, here in Kuwait. I spent 4 days in ICU, and a further 18 days on the wards; following by a readmission 4 months later to have my kidney removed via keyhole surgery. Everything - and I mean including catscans, OPD follow-up, the works came to a grand total of $300. Kuwait is great for medical care.

But, what to do when we leave and are no longer resident??

What health care plans do folks use? Which plans are good for cruisers? Which plans offer value for money???