Is the Medical Expense enough? CSA quoted $50k Medical Expense, $250k for Emergency Transport? Maybe also MedJet? I have Blue Cross and Blue Shield which will cover a portion if needed. I am taking my wife and 11 year old son this June and would like to cover all the bases. We will be in the Eastern Cape so not too far from civilization. From some of the stories told on this site your Medical bills could far exceed this amount, or maybe the evacuation from remote areas was a big portion of the total cost.

Any comments would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Mike

Go to Insure My Trip

Click on QUOTES

Put 0 in the Trip Cost box (this assumes you want only the Medical and other coverage, and you do not want Trip Cancellation).

Then select the amount you want in the Medical Limit pull down menu.

Fill in the other information and click on Quote

You will get a screen with a lot of quotes, showing the different coverages from several companies.

Last year we got $100,000 medical coverage (for each of us) for $56.00. The policy was with CSA but we got it through Insure My Trip.

We also have Medjet, I think now you can get Medjet coverage for just your trip and not the whole year.

We also have Blue Cross. Go to their website and you will find a number you need to call if you are hurt overseas (the 1-800 number on your card won't work overseas). You can also find Blue Cross approved providers (doctors and hospitals) in South Africa on the Blue Cross website. Copy those and take that with you.

Regards,

Terry

You might also like to consider buying yourself one of those "giving kits" if that's the right term. It's a set of sterile needles, blades and tubes etc that you can insist the medivac team or hospital etc use on you so that you're 110% sure that what's stuck in you is sterile. They don't cost much, they pack away real small and they're far from expensive.

We have them as part of the company first aid kits but not all safari companies do.....

On the subject of CSA, we recently put a link to them on the contacts page of our website..... Don't know if many people use it as I haven't checked, but it's there if anyone has trouble finding them.......

On my last trip to RSA I had to be hospitalized and my regular medical insurance thru work (which is Blue Cross) covered the bill. Of course I had to pay up front and file a claim with Blue Cross when I got back to the States.

David,

Did they pay it all? Did you go to a Doctor or Hospital on the list? Did you pay with Amex or Visa? I phoned BC/BS and they said they would reimburse 60% and I of course have to pay first. A little summary of your experiences would be nice.


Terry,

Thanks for the tip on Insure my trip. I was at CSA website and they did not give that option and I had not phoned yet. I was leaning towards CSA because of the good reports AR posters, expecially the Atcheson story.

Do you really need Med Jet with CSA? I guess Med Jet would fly you to the US or Europe just on your wishes and CSA would be on a need basis?

I printed the list from the BC/BS website and BC/BS told me that I would have to pay first and they would reimburse 60% upon return.

Thanks agian,
Mike

If I remember correctly, Insure My Trip had more coverage options than did the CSA website. So I just bought the policy through Insure My Trip.

I keep Medjet in force year round. You would have to read the policy provisions to see what CSA covers re: medical evacuation and then compare it to Medjet to see if Medjet is worth the cost.

Why did Blue Cross say they would pay just 60%? Is that all they will cover for overseas costs or that the limit of your policy for all medical expenses regardless of whether you are in the US or abroad?

Regards,

Terry

She said that is what they pay for using and "Out of Network" Provider. It sounded like this was Policy for out of the country. I will call back and ask if we use a docotor or hospital on the list they will pay more. (not even sure how my plan works) I will post there answer later. I have had BC/BS for 15 years and used it for the birth of my child and my wife needed an operation. All I know is I pay $20 for my annual physical.


I was thinking that if BC/BS paid up to 60% CSA would pick up the differance $50-$100 with CSA should be enough. They only questions still would be the evac and how you pay the doctor or hospital in South Africa and Europe. I usually only carry an Amex card.

Mike

Tradewinds the difference between Medjet and most other providers for evac is that you pick the hospital of YOUR choice rather than having the others transport you to the nearest medical facility that is suitable (filthy clinic).
Also with the med coverage ins. most SA docotrs will want to be paid up front regardless of what ins. coverage you have. IMHO get the MedJet evac and carry your BC/BS cards/phone #s then increase your credit card to max on 2 of them to cover the up front fees.

I had a 5 day hospital stay due to an infection where I could not keep anything down for several days. I had a hospital bill, doctor's bill, lab bill and pharmacy bill. All was paid with cash in RSA, first my PH paid everything for me and when I was back on my feet I reimbursed him. The total of all my bills was about $1800, BC/BS paid me back a total of $850 after taking out co=pays and hospital deductible of $525. The rest of the difference was attributed to currency exchange rates, BC/BS used something different than going rate and of course it was to thier advantage.

Just spoke with CSA on the phone. They say they are the Secondary Insurance to my BC/BS and the Emergency Medical Transportation is for your Hospital of Choice, not hospital of need. And yes they will evac you to the US if needed.

So I am happy that the BC/BS and CSA will cover any Medical Expenses. Will have to read the contract about the EVAc portion. They claim it is good up to $250,000 which should get you to the US in an Air Ambulance. If that is true there may be no need for MedJet.

Mike

One thing to note about MedJet is if you are admitted to a hospital more than 150 miles from home, then you can get an Air Ambulance. It is not medical need that gets you transported. Just being admitted can get you on a plane.

I will be checking my BG/BS though.

-Steve

BTT


Mike

quote:

Originally posted by David Culpepper:
I had a 5 day hospital stay due to an infection where I could not keep anything down for several days. I had a hospital bill, doctor's bill, lab bill and pharmacy bill. All was paid with cash in RSA, first my PH paid everything for me and when I was back on my feet I reimbursed him. The total of all my bills was about $1800, BC/BS paid me back a total of $850 after taking out co=pays and hospital deductible of $525. The rest of the difference was attributed to currency exchange rates, BC/BS used something different than going rate and of course it was to thier advantage.

Was the doctor and hospital on the list of approved for BC/BS?

I have no idea if they were on BC/BS list, never seen any list. When the claim was processed it did not say anything about "out of network", it had to be filed on a out of country claim form and that's all the receipt said when I was paid. The doctor was Dr. Bouwer out of Ellisras and the hospital was Marapang Hospital out of Overwacht, if anyone has the list to see if they are listed.

As a physician, especially one that takes BC/BS and has this insurance myself, this got me curious.

I went to their website and started looking up about international preferred providers. Of the common safari countries there are some preferred providers there.

RSA 174
Namibia 35
Tanzania 17
Botswana 42
Zim 9
Zambia 2

If you have BC/BS you can go to their website, and look for the section of international preferred providers. Pick the country you are going to, and even get names of physicians in the nearest city.

Of course all of this may be a moot point, as more than likely if you're needing a doc in a foreign country it will be an emergency, and you'll be happy to get whoever can take care of you first. It may still be useful to have some names of preferred providers to save some money.

For a $55 premium for all three people CSA will act as a secondary Insurance and pay what BC/BS will not pay. Sounds like a good buy.

I found out the evac for CSA you have to be admitted to a hospital and the attending Physican and CSA will decide if you need to be relocated. MedJet has some requirements but if you are admitted to a hospital and it is safe to transport you yaou can be relocated to any hospital you wish.

Mike