Critical Needs of the Medical Traveler
Policies providing traditional travel insurance benefits as well as some coverage for extended care do not address two critical needs of the medical traveler. First, there is a need for protection if the medical procedure goes wrong. Second, the medical traveler with limited funds may need to be medically evacuated back home when stranded in a foreign hospital after a failed medical procedure.
The morbidity data show that failed medical procedures are rare, but they do occur. When they happen to a medical traveler, the patient’s problems can be aggravated by lack of funds. The patient may need money to engage a surgeon for a remedial procedure. While such remedial care could be provided at the foreign hospital, it is more likely that it would be provided at a hospital closer to the patient’s home. Patients may be reluctant to undergo remedial care at the same hospital or the patient’s post-op problem may not manifest itself fully until the patient returns home. Accordingly, Travel has identified the need for a failed medical procedure benefit as well as an evacuation benefit that goes beyond evacuations limited to unforeseen emergencies.
The Best Medical Results Insurance Policy
To address the needs of the medical traveler will offer Best Medical Results insurance. The policy benefits will include coverage for emergency medical expenses up to a maximum benefit of $100,000 USD for accident or sickness that manifests itself during the period of coverage and is unrelated to the medical procedure. An evacuation benefit will cover not only emergency evacuations in connection with unforeseen injury, but also, a patient who requires transportation home after a failed medical procedure will be covered. The evacuation benefit is included in the $100,000 USD maximum, and all assistance services will be provided by the Company’s assistance partner, OnCall International. Finally, there will be a schedule of benefits for various medical procedures, and in the event that the procedure goes wrong, the patient will be paid the designated benefit or the cost of a remedial medical procedure, whichever is less. In the event that no remedial medical procedure is medically advisable, the full benefit will be paid in cash to the insured patient.
The Best Medical Results insurance policy addresses the two most important needs of the medical traveler: what happens if the treatment fails and the patient is stranded. Because most medical travelers are uninsured, they need coverage for those risks that pose the greatest threat. Having the funds to deal with a failed medical procedure and being protected against the expense of a medically-supervised evacuation will give the medical traveler peace of mind.