OBC for Medical

Long story short. DH had blood pressure/dizziness. Went to medical on Amsterdam. Had great service, labs, ekg, etc. All OK just needs meds adjusted which was done. Bill so far $613.00.

HAL charged this amount and used my OBC to pay part of the bill. Does anyone know if this really is true, you can use OBC? Or are they going to realize it was a mistake?

The OBC came from HAL. How will this work filing a claim with our insurance?

Anyone with experience in this? Thanks in advance.

Still loving the 14 day cruise to Alaska!

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We had medical expenses a little higher than yours, and also OBC. Our OBC was a lot less than the than the medical bill, and we also had gratuities added to our account too.

On to insurance. We used travel guard gold. We had to wait six months for our slow primary insurance to declare it out of network and refuse to pay. I collected the bills, got HAL to send us medical transcripts from the doctor. Saved the bills and submitted everything to travel guard. We've done this twice, and the procedure was a little different each time. But the first time I cancelled the whole cruise.

We also had been stuck w/ the cost of a shore excursion since it was after the cancellation deadline. Shore excursions onboard the ship prepared a letter, and I submitted that along w/ the tickets. Travel guard paid that as well.

Our TA at the time, submitted for us. But she told us that they no longer submit medical due to HIPAA.

On our last trip we had to file a trip interruption claim. I opened the claim on at travelguard.gov, scanned the documents and uploading. But stiil waiting for their check.

Also of note that since the medical is charged to the ship board account, it counts toward the mariner points. At least that's what guest relations said.

We had medical expenses a little higher than yours, and also OBC. Our OBC was a lot less than the than the medical bill, and we also had gratuities added to our account too.

 

On to insurance. We used travel guard gold. We had to wait six months for our slow primary insurance to declare it out of network and refuse to pay. I collected the bills, got HAL to send us medical transcripts from the doctor. Saved the bills and submitted everything to travel guard. We've done this twice, and the procedure was a little different each time. But the first time I cancelled the whole cruise.

 

We also had been stuck w/ the cost of a shore excursion since it was after the cancellation deadline. Shore excursions onboard the ship prepared a letter, and I submitted that along w/ the tickets. Travel guard paid that as well.

 

Our TA at the time, submitted for us. But she told us that they no longer submit medical due to HIPAA.

 

On our last trip we had to file a trip interruption claim. I opened the claim on at travelguard.gov, scanned the documents and uploading. But stiil waiting for their check.

 

Also of note that since the medical is charged to the ship board account, it counts toward the mariner points. At least that's what guest relations said.

So your experience is that, yes, OBC can be used for on-board medical expenses? Did you have a choice in the matter?

If the front office did it correct. No we did not have a choice. I mean I thought they would bill the medical, we would pay the entire amount, and have OBC left.

Not sure how this will work with insurance. We shall see.

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If the front office did it correct. No we did not have a choice. I mean I thought they would bill the medical, we would pay the entire amount, and have OBC left.

 

Not sure how this will work with insurance. We shall see.

 

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Thank you for clarifying your situation but my questions were to knittinggirl whose statement wasn't really clear to me in terms of whether or not their OBC was used and if they had a choice. From your experience, the "choice" answer is no.

It can be used for anything charged to your account!

If the front office did it correct. No we did not have a choice. I mean I thought they would bill the medical, we would pay the entire amount, and have OBC left.

 

Not sure how this will work with insurance. We shall see.

 

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Whether the medical costs are paid by OBC or credit card shouldn't matter. The on board charges have to be paid by the time you leave the ship, regardless. Just submit your receipts as you normally would upon your return. Think of it as getting cash (cheque) for your OBC at a later date.

Hope there is no further need for medical attention and you enjoy the rest of your cruise!

Whether the medical costs are paid by OBC or credit card shouldn't matter. The on board charges have to be paid by the time you leave the ship, regardless. Just submit your receipts as you normally would upon your return. Think of it as getting cash (cheque) for your OBC at a later date.

 

This is exactly what happened to us recently on the Zuiderdam. A visit to Medical ate up most of our OBC.

Returned home, filed with our primary insurance, which paid the claim as an out-of-network expense. Then we filed the balance with our credit card insurance (Chase), and they paid the balance less a $50 deductible. Both claims processed and paid within a month after we returned, so was very happy about that. :)

My medical bill was not a large one. Shipboard credit covered it on one cruise.

But on another cruise, the visit to the doctor was more expensive and we didn't have much shipboard credit. So we did owe at the end. But we owed so little I didn't bother submitting a bill to Security Blue for $25.

It really depends on the amount of your doctor's bill at the end of the cruise.

Thanks for all the replies. Most helpful!

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It won't matter to the insurance company how you paid for your onboard account.

Make sure you get a detailed receipt for the medical services that you can send to your insurance company.

We had this same thing on our last cruise and no problems claiming for the medical cost.

OBC is added to your account as a credit when you board the ship.

Everything you purchase on board (Specialty restaurants, beverages, medical, Shops, excursions, etc) is also added during the cruise to your account. If your purchases exceed your OBC, that amount will be charged to your credit card on file at the end of the cruise

I don't have experience with HAL but I'm aware of other lines that won't apply OBC to medical charges. Just so you're not surprised elsewhere.

We had a medical charge on the recent Amsterdam Alaska cruise. The charge was added to our other charges and the OBC reduced that total amount. HAL did not separate the medical charge in any way except to show it as an item on the bill.

The medical center did, however, deliver a detailed invoice to our stateroom for the services rendered.

I am confused.

On a 2014 Mediterranean Cruise, my wife fell and broke her foot on a HAL shore excursion at Pompeii.

They got us back to the Nieuw Amsterdam medical center.

Doctor, X-Rays, set her foot, gave us a strap on walking boot cast, pain meds, etc.

Communicated with our Doctor back in the US, e-mailed the X-rays...

I asked about costs, staff reply "Oh no sir, that's what we're here for".

$0 charge.

Has something changed?

I am confused.

On a 2014 Mediterranean Cruise, my wife fell and broke her foot on a HAL shore excursion at Pompeii.

They got us back to the Nieuw Amsterdam medical center.

Doctor, X-Rays, set her foot, gave us a strap on walking boot cast, pain meds, etc.

Communicated with our Doctor back in the US, e-mailed the X-rays...

I asked about costs, staff reply "Oh no sir, that's what we're here for".

$0 charge.

Has something changed?

We have always been charged to see doctor, no matter what cruise line.

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We had a medical charge on the recent Amsterdam Alaska cruise. The charge was added to our other charges and the OBC reduced that total amount. HAL did not separate the medical charge in any way except to show it as an item on the bill.

 

The medical center did, however, deliver a detailed invoice to our stateroom for the services rendered.

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I am confused.

On a 2014 Mediterranean Cruise, my wife fell and broke her foot on a HAL shore excursion at Pompeii.

They got us back to the Nieuw Amsterdam medical center.

Doctor, X-Rays, set her foot, gave us a strap on walking boot cast, pain meds, etc.

Communicated with our Doctor back in the US, e-mailed the X-rays...

I asked about costs, staff reply "Oh no sir, that's what we're here for".

$0 charge.

Has something changed?

I wonder if this is the case when on a HAL excursion.

Our son-in-law had one of those heavy doors slam on his hand and had to make several trips to the ship's doctor for Xrays, draining of a nail area and pain pills. There were no charges to his account. We assumed it was because it was a shipboard accident.

Ruth

I am confused.

On a 2014 Mediterranean Cruise, my wife fell and broke her foot on a HAL shore excursion at Pompeii.

They got us back to the Nieuw Amsterdam medical center.

Doctor, X-Rays, set her foot, gave us a strap on walking boot cast, pain meds, etc.

Communicated with our Doctor back in the US, e-mailed the X-rays...

I asked about costs, staff reply "Oh no sir, that's what we're here for".

$0 charge.

Has something changed?

Since your wife's situation was an accident on a HAL shore excursion, I am not surprised you were not charged. However, someone presenting themselves in Medical with chest pains, fever, etc., are likely going to incur a fee to see a doctor. When we were in Medical, the nurse/receptionist made it clear right up front about the charges.

If you are injured on board, or on a HAL-sponsored excursion, our personal experience and friends' experience, is that HAL covers all expenses to include rehabilitation when you return home. It is imperative that an accident report be created by the ship to receive the free medical. We were told that the report becomes a part of the ship's daily log.

If you seek medical treatment for anything not requiring an accident report, you will be charged for treatment. Most medical insurance policies will reimburse most of any charged medical costs.

You can ask Holland American for a copy of the Medical bills.

So your experience is that, yes, OBC can be used for on-board medical expenses? Did you have a choice in the matter?

I don't know about the OBC. We had about $250 OBC for stockholder's credit.

We had a lot of credits for cancelling shore excursions, buying new excursions, gratuity. In the end we had to a positive bill. It was all jammed together with no separate sections for things like shore ex, medical, etc. I saved the medical bill that was sent to my stateroom later, and also sent in the seapass bill.

Less familiar w/ HAL. On Royal Caribbean, they won't reimburse OBC unless you have more expenses. If you've precharged some shore ex, dining, etc and gotten one of those refunded there's a good chance you'll see a credit on your credit card in the event of a negative bill.

I am confused.

On a 2014 Mediterranean Cruise, my wife fell and broke her foot on a HAL shore excursion at Pompeii.

They got us back to the Nieuw Amsterdam medical center.

Doctor, X-Rays, set her foot, gave us a strap on walking boot cast, pain meds, etc.

Communicated with our Doctor back in the US, e-mailed the X-rays...

I asked about costs, staff reply "Oh no sir, that's what we're here for".

$0 charge.

Has something changed?

I burned my hand on one of the heat lamps in the Windjammer and visited medical. They treated the burn, and no charge.