Health Insurance - Do You Buy It?

[LifePart2]

I am 62, male. The admiral is 54, female. We are from Canada and cruise in the Caribbean and Bahamas (NOT USA) for 6- 7 months a year. We are both in good health apart from my mild asthma.

We are just about to set off again, and are debating going without medical insurance as it is so darned expensive. Our experience of medical care in the islands is that it is pretty cheap, although I have no idea what the cost of a month-long ICU stay might be.

So, just wondering, what do you do? Do you have insurance, or do go without? Any thoughts on the matter?

[dannc]

We bought an insurance policy when we were on a boat in Europe. The policy would cover health care, but more importantly, would evacuate us back to the US if needed. We were really more interested in evacuation coverage.

Thankfully, it was not needed or used, but I was very happy to have it when we were returning to the boat late at night. The tide had gone down, and we had to climb 10-12 feet down a slippery ladder, in the rain, after eating and drinking, to get to the floating pontoon and I found out I had used the wrong ladder, which stopped short 4-6 feet above said pontoon. I just dropped the rest of the way. The wifey used the other ladder that went all the way to the pontoon.

We have bought insurance to cover some of our kids trips away from home. Unfortunately, there was at least one time, though there might have been two, where the policies were needed and used. The companies paid up once we provide documentation.

Later,
Dan

[sv_pelagia]

I would guess evacuation from Carribean/Bahamas would likely be to USA. Being from Canada, you'd want insurance (even evacuation to Canada would be very expensive).

It's an individual calculation of risk. But accidents DO happen.

[Joli]

We carry insurance, 59 and 62. Not worried about day to day expenses but major medical. Pricy but it's easier to spend $20k a year then be hit with a million dollar medical issue. I'm a past cancer survivor so have some understanding of the costs of treatment. We use DANS for repatriation.

[Clivevon]

You don't need to buy medical insurance as long as you have liquid cash money in the bank to cover eventualities. How much would be up to you - I would guess say 100,000 USD minimum but you might feel comfortable with less. In effect, you would be self-insuring. The only logical reason to do that of course is because medical insurance premiums get really high as you age or acquire pre-existing conditions, or because you cannot buy insurance at any price because you are too high risk. So in effect you are only considering NOT buying medical insurance because you are high risk. If you werent high risk it would be a cheap no brainer to buy it.
At some point your premiums will rise to a point where you feel more comfortable self insuring. As I say, thats fine if you have the money & are happy to assume the whole risk yourself. The alternative is to spread the risk by buying insurance.
Yes, this is a really live issue for us right now, too. Lots of experience in the area. The kids are insured. I'm still just about insured. The wife is not - because guess what- if you make claims. they bang up your premiums to get the money back - & now has a condition we are paying for ourselves.... Sods Law is alive & well - worth remembering..

[Clivevon]

Just a follow up - my insurance premiums are always high because I insist on disclosing everything so as to leave them no loopholes not to pay out if I claim. I dont see any point in paying any money at all for an insurance policy which wont pay out because of non disclosure by me - cheap or not.

[meirriba]

We are 72 yo couple. We sail in the Med and in normal (non Covid) days travel a lot, mainly in less developed areas of the globe.
ALWAYS with health/travel insurance that always incudes medical flight home.
Just at the start of this year 2021, our son in law, had a heart attack in Ethiopia. The hospital he was in for 3 days, has no running water, medicines you buy on your own, etc. He had an insurance, and the insurance company made unbelievable effort to get him back home to a proper hospital in Israel.
I would guess at the tune of several hundreds thousands dollar (two private flights, one local and one international, with expert medical staff onboard).

[sagablu]

Consider that some medical providers maybe hesitant or unwilling to provide care without guarantee of payment. So you need to have adequate resources or immediately accessible credit to guarantee that you will receive care. First-hand knowledge, this happens. I certainly understand that coverage is expensive, but believe me you will forget about that should you be in a situation needing care and having it withheld.

[alma libre]

I also am Canadian, (Ontario), OHIP will reimburse from anywhere to the extent it pays if the occurance was in Ontario.
Whether it will pay direct (major medical) is something you will have to check out with the province.
In order for each province to receive transfer payments...from the feds...(huge) they all must follow the feds rules.
So all provinces are similar.
U.S. medical treatment rates are huge, far greater than in Canada and most carribean countries.
That is why we are running scared.
Many health insurance companies only reimburse also (I think).
Check it out with your province, let the people on this forum steer you , but do the legwork with the provincial agency yourself.
I think it will put to rest alot of your concerns and will NOT cost you as much as you think.
Happy sailing
Alma Libre

[LifePart2]

Originally Posted by Clivevon

Just a follow up - my insurance premiums are always high because I insist on disclosing everything so as to leave them no loopholes not to pay out if I claim. I dont see any point in paying any money at all for an insurance policy which wont pay out because of non disclosure by me - cheap or not.

I totally agree with that. They will find any reason they can to not pay out, so give them no wriggle room.

Originally Posted by Clivevon

medical insurance premiums get really high as you age or acquire pre-existing conditions, or because you cannot buy insurance at any price because you are too high risk. So in effect you are only considering NOT buying medical insurance because you are high risk. If you werent high risk it would be a cheap no brainer to buy it.

That is, of course, true. However there two types of medical risk: getting old and sick, and accidents. We have both had a lot of medical investigations recently, as a result of which we both estimate our medical risks to be pretty low, and probably quite a bit lower than others of our age. So we are probably over-paying for our medical insurance. But the risk of some expensive accident remains, and those, of course, come right out of the blue.

We leave in two weeks, so need to decide quickly! Still on the fence about it all.

Just on a side note, we no longer insure our boat as it was just getting too expensive. We just have liability insurance. The extra money we save is better spent on maintenance and safety equipment.

[gpridgen]

It sounds like you have a fair appetite for risk. One approach would be to purchase some sort of CAT (catastrophic) coverage, that stepped in above some fairly high limit ($50- $250K). I have not priced these in a long time, but they used to be quite fairly priced.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by LifePart2

I am 62, male. The admiral is 54, female. We are from Canada and cruise in the Caribbean and Bahamas (NOT USA) for 6- 7 months a year. We are both in good health apart from my mild asthma.

We are just about to set off again, and are debating going without medical insurance as it is so darned expensive. Our experience of medical care in the islands is that it is pretty cheap, although I have no idea what the cost of a month-long ICU stay might be.

So, just wondering, what do you do? Do you have insurance, or do go without? Any thoughts on the matter?

Consider a major accident. My wife just spent 3 1/2 months in the hospital or rehab. for a shattered leg. Happened a home not aboard where it would probably been much more likely. Just something to ponder.

[alma libre]

My understanding, your provincial health coverage does not repatriate....ask.

[rhubstuff]

There is a bottle of pills on our table right now that contains a 30-day supply. It is a keep-you-alive drug and without it, the disease comes back and gets you, and in a few months you are gone. It cost the insurance company $28,000. No co-pay required.

[Carole ann]

I had Pnewmonia while on my boat in Guatemala. Went to the Esperansa in Guatemala city in intensive care for 4 days. Over $3000. Turned it into Medicare and they paid half. They will pay if you are not out of country to long.