Does private medical ins. work onboard

[jankn]

We are sailing in a few days and dont have any current medical issues, so I dont want to jinx myself, but just wondered if something does happen - is a passenger's regular medical insurance accepted when cared for by the cruiseline's doctor ? We have taken out the Platinum plan offered by HAL for evac etc but just thinking about minor issues....

[sail7seas]

No.

 

Any charges you incur will be posted to your shipboard account to be paid at the end of cruise.

 

You should ask for paperwork from the infirmary to submit to your insurance for reimbursement.

[Carolin]

Please call you medical insurance company and ask if you have international coverage. Even on the ship, its considered out of country.

 

Typically I read that the charges on board have to be paid before leaving the cruise and then they have to be submitted to the insurance company to get money back.

 

I checked with my medical insurance. It does not cover out of country so I purchase extra internation medical insurance just in case.

[world~citizen]

We are sailing in a few days and dont have any current medical issues, so I dont want to jinx myself, but just wondered if something does happen - is a passenger's regular medical insurance accepted when cared for by the cruiseline's doctor ? We have taken out the Platinum plan offered by HAL for evac etc but just thinking about minor issues....

 

I think it depends on your regular medical insurance. You can take a look at your policy, or call the company up.

 

In our case, we just get billed by the ships doctor and we file a claim, but our regular policy is anything but, and it covers us worldwide.

 

Take the opportunity to re-read your policy.

[world~citizen]

...I checked with my medical insurance. It does not cover out of country so I purchase extra internation medical insurance just in case.

 

I have seen a lot of travel insurance policies. Wow. On some the coverage would get eaten up pretty quickly. Others have a pre-existing conditions clause that render the policy much less helpful for some people. You have to do your homework.

[hawkeye3d]

On my last cruise the ship's Dr. posted the medical charges to my account which was charged to my cc at the end of the cruise. I had to submit the paper work that the ships Dr. gave me to the insurance company along WITH proof (cc bill) that I had paid the charges. The insurance company disallowed the charges for a follow up visit to the ships Dr. along with charges for medical supplies (gauze etc) even though I had a serious infected cut on my foot that only a fool would not follow up on. The insurance company claimed that I should have called one of their nurses before the follow up visit. Lesson learned, read the policy.

[Krazy Kruizers]

When I had to see the doctor -- his bill and the medication were charged to my shipboard account.

 

I was given a reference number to contact HAL in Seattle to get the itemized bill and codes and for my insurance company.

 

When we got home I did all that -- took about 2 months but I got everything I paid back.

[mabert]

Now I am confused. If we get the HAL insurance on the trip, that doesn't cover the Ship's Doctor charges? We can't submit those to the Plan?

[lcand1923]

An additional word of caution -- because the charges go on your shipboard account which must be paid before you leave the ship, verify your credit limit. On our last cruise we maxed out the credit card with charges incurred using the Sick Bay. Luckily, we had an extra card with us.

[sail7seas]

HAL Platinum policy only pays $10,000 in medical insurance.

[tangerinebunny]

We filed from our December cruise. We paid by credit card, then contacted our travel insurance provider, who told us to start with our primary coverage.

 

It was Blue Cross and they covered 100% of the charges. (We'd asked before the cruise and they'd assured us that we were covered, but it's hard to have all that much faith in a voice over the phone.)

 

We were at the dock in FLL, but it was on-board, so it was out of the USA.

 

Had BC/BS not paid all our charges, then the secondary policy would have kicked in.

[GeriatricNurse]

On my last cruise the ship's Dr. posted the medical charges to my account which was charged to my cc at the end of the cruise. I had to submit the paper work that the ships Dr. gave me to the insurance company along WITH proof (cc bill) that I had paid the charges. The insurance company disallowed the charges for a follow up visit to the ships Dr. along with charges for medical supplies (gauze etc) even though I had a serious infected cut on my foot that only a fool would not follow up on. The insurance company claimed that I should have called one of their nurses before the follow up visit. Lesson learned, read the policy.

 

Fellow Ontarian, would you mind indicating the name of your (travel) insurance company? ;)

[GeriatricNurse]

HAL Platinum policy only pays $10,000 in medical insurance.

 

Terrible coverage! :mad:

[KirkNC]

This is a great question that many probably never think about.

[bigeagle12]

Most U.S. insurance plans do not cover you outside the U.S. except for Emergency Services. Those you normally will be reimbursed for. Check with you insurance company for specific details.

 

To be safe I always buy a travel insurance policy .. not from the cruise line. It covers medical and so much more.

[Typhoon1]

Cash or Credit Card only.

 

You will have to submit the bill to your insurance for reimbursement.

[skh716]

My son needed medical attention on a past cruise. We had travel insurance and they asked us to submit it to our primary medical insurance which is United Healthcare. They treated it like a emergency room visit and reimbursed us everything except our $100 deductible. We then submitted this to the travel insurance and they paid it.

[Big Gordo]

"Don't leave home without it!" and "It's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it!" are two phrases you should heed when it comes to travel insurance. My wife took ill on a Mediterranean cruise in 2010 resulting in multiple visits to the ship's doctor resulting in the cancellation of a number of shore excursions. HAL provided us with all the necessary paperwork and on our return home our claim with our insurers was settled within a week...medical costs and the cancelled shore excursions.

[cruznbelle]

It's a good question - in my case I not only had a hefty bill with the cruise Dr., I had a nice (not) 3 day stay in Monte Carlo at the Princess Grace Hospital.

 

Here's what happened to me - your mileage may vary... (this was Princess - which was absolutely wonderful btw other than trying to tell us if the hospital released me after checking me over - I could get back on the ship - okay even I knew when I had to pack all my stuff I wasn't getting back on):(

 

Ship costs - billed to my ship board acct - I had 50k in medical with my traveler's insurance - but dumb me left the policy on my printer at home - so no phone number and no name - no insurance coverage at that moment in time as I needed the name & number of who actually underwrote the policy. A BIG lesson learned. Princess did point out that if I had Princess insurance - there would be no bill.. oh well

 

Hospital costs - now this gets interesting. I had Cigna at the time which did reinburse my 2500 (us) costs for the nice stay I had in Monte Carlo after I got home. And here is the interesting part - the hospital would NOT LET ME GO... period... for 2 days I argued with them (and no the dr barely spoke English, but Princess provided me an interpreter/port authority guy - as the Dr wanted to do a 'procedure' and I kept saying no procedure - let me go. They finally gave me permission to fly but only after I paid them using an empty CC we always have 'just in case'. They would not take my insurance - as the administrator said - these American insurances don't pay - so sorry - we need you to pay us directly. Plus just trying to dial back home was a challenge as well as giving return numbers to US people. Cigna had us on hold for 40 mins while we tried to let them know I was hospitalized per the 24 notice requirement - another nice 900 bill when all said and done. Princess did provide us with a general letter of coverage if necessary - meaning that worst came to worst apparently Princess would cover and get it back from us... the hospital - didn't even consider that paper - it was worthless.

 

So what did my traveler's insurance cover? Nothing while we were stuck other than they were willing to pay for our flights back but they were having heartburn because we held 1st class tickets which turned out to be so difficult to arrange from them (bad flights / bad connections / coach being offered etc) - we took care of that as well as my husband is a commercial pilot. (we got the name & number finally from American Express which gratefully researched my travel insurance purchase and found the phone numbers) Princess did pay for my husband's hotel in Monte Carlo and the port authority drove us personally to Nice and got us a room there (wonderful wonderful man who unfortunately knows more personal details about me then either one of us care as he patiently provided the translations to the drs that saw me).

 

So long story short - it all worked out with little out of pocket. But at the time - we ended up spending thousands cover the costs until we returned home. Being stuck in a foreign country, not speaking the language, not understanding how the toll numbers work, and being sick - very very stressful

 

So my advise to anyone is always have a spare CC - take ALL your travel documents plus a cheat sheet on how to dial in/out using toll free numbers and do put an international plan on your phone.

 

Hope this helps... Alot of my troubles would have been easier if I only had the policy with me. Also my poor husband was given 30 minutes to pack us up - A task he couldn't do it since I had 14 days of stuff all unpacked in drawers & closet. I finally had to have the IV pulled and go up and help :eek:

[TWOFERTWO]

bunnelc,

 

Thank you for the personal insight and information. After fifteen cruises, you have suggested something that I never thought about, the 'empty' CC.

[sail7seas]

Always leave a credit card in your cabin safe when you go ashore. If you lose one while ashore, you will still have a valid card to use.

 

[Tarpeian Rock]

We filed from our December cruise. We paid by credit card, then contacted our travel insurance provider, who told us to start with our primary coverage.

 

It was Blue Cross and they covered 100% of the charges. (We'd asked before the cruise and they'd assured us that we were covered, but it's hard to have all that much faith in a voice over the phone.)

 

We were at the dock in FLL, but it was on-board, so it was out of the USA.

 

Had BC/BS not paid all our charges, then the secondary policy would have kicked in.

 

 

 

Wow - that "out of the USA" determination surprised me. If I were injured on a friend's boat tied up at a dock, that would clearly be IN the US. Does the "out of the USA" happen because it's a foreign-flag vessel (despite being in US waters)? It would be interesting to press that point for the heck of it. I'll bet if someone were, say, stabbed at the welcome-aboard Lido buffet while the ship was still tied up at Ft. Lauderdale, the local police would be in charge. But I could be wrong.

[sail7seas]

Maritime law is a unique specialty and the average U.S. lawyer who does not practice that specialty knows little about it.