Travel Health Insurance, GET. IT.

[Hanni]

Interesting , I've fortunately never had to get medical treatment when travelling but it's good to have a better understanding.

[calgarywinning]

These policies are totally required. The sad state of the american system is only a reflection of where we are at.

Actually, there are some very efficient and amazing hospitals in various parts of Mexico. I've had numerous friends that were just amazed.

[coaster]

Originally Posted by Locke

I always get AMA travel health insurance. Its super cheap but I've never had to use it.

I remember sitting in a casino in Vegas chatting with some Americans and they asked me whether or not it was true that Canadians will buy travel insurance to go to the US even for a few days.

I dont know about everyone, but I do. I was going to Vegas for 3 days and I buy travel insurance. Its cheap.

Also, when I went to Cuba they wont let you in unless you have proof of travel health insurance.

+1 A couple years ago a friend of mine went to Palm Springs for a golf weekend. He had a heart attack that left him in a coma for some time. Long story short, after 2 operations his bill was $660,000. He was insured luckily. He and his wife are now about to enjoy their long planned retirements. I can't imagine what his life would have looked like if he had decided to roll the dice on travel insurance.

[vegasbound]

So agree. I have travel health insurance through MasterCard. Three weeks ago I was in Anaheim and had a migraine. When I get migraine's, I don't stop throwing up, at all. Zorforan, Oxycodone, etc were all not working so I went to the ER. My hospital bill was $0. I have a good friend living in the States (from Canada), just got married and neither of them have insurance. I told her to get it but we'll see because there is no way she is going to be able to pay a hospital bill if she gets sick. Everyone should have travel medical insurance.

[Travis Munroe]

Good story/reminder... I always go through RBC but will consider ama next time.

Had to take my buddy to a Denver emergency clinic within the last few months. He didnt have any insurance and spent around $400 out of pocket. They said that he was improving but if he were to be rushed to the ER it would be $10,000 right off the hop.

[nfotiu]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

This is incorrect - the text below is from the AHC website:

Alberta Health covers only limited physician and hospital costs outside of Canada. It is strongly recommended that Albertans obtain private supplementary insurance when outside the province or outside Canada, as costs for services can be much higher than in Alberta.

That doesn't contradict what i said. Alberta health care pays what the procedure would cost in Alberta and ama covers the rest. You can't buy the ama coverage if you don't have Alberta health coverage.

Also no hospitalin the US is going to make you pay a large bill on the spot in the ER. You'd likely just be billed if they can't direct bill. Also just because one hospital in the US can direct bill ama doesn't mean all will.

[Ryan Coke]

Exactly ^^^

Ultimately the US healthcare system is a business, like a retail sector, or the hotel business. There are good and bad, but fundamentally if you can pay you can get excellent treatment. That is not meant in a way that excuses it's overall failings.

An example of the different mentality is the hospital near us has a valet parking option. I don't remember ever seeing that in Canada.

[Slava]

I don't want to disagree at all with the necessity of getting travel insurance, because I think its extremely important. Let me just say that up front.

I think that many of us has a biased view of healthcare in the US and some is a little bit mistaken. Or maybe its Canada that we have a biased view of. What I'm referring to is the cost of care for foreigners. We all (citizens) head to the doctor when we need to, wait and get care. If you're not a citizen in Canada though you face a similar issue as we would be in the US traveling without coverage. Let's eliminate life threatening circumstances from the picture (I don't think many health institutions will literally have people die in the waiting room, although now that I said this I know I'm about to be bombarded with anecdotal evidence to the contrary!). The thing is if you're a citizen of another country and go to a Canadian hospital or clinic, you're going to have to pull out your credit card. Its not cheap (although maybe not as much as it is in the US), and you won't get treatment without payment here either.

It makes sense to me. We pay taxes and contribute to fund that system, and while its fantastic that we have visitors from around the globe coming here, we would only be taken advantage of if that wasn't the case. Its a bit of a tangent from the discussion, but I figured I would mention it anyway...we take our shots at the US system and most of them I agree with, but some things aren't as different as they seem.

[ken0042]

Just a little warning about dealing with a company like AMA. With a recent experience I just had with them- I certainly would not trust them and their deceptive business practices with something as important as my health.

They advertized their new membership as coming with a "Free $50 Dining card." Turns out this card is nothing better than the coupons that come in the mail from the restaurants themselves. (Buy a large pizza, get a medium free, etc.)

When I was cancelling my membership, the CSR actually used the word "propaganda" when appologizing for their offer. Sounds like this isn't the first complaint they have received.