Do You Need Travel Health Insurance?

What is travel health insurance?

Travel health insurance is a policy designed to cover some medical expenses, in case you get injured or sick while you are on a trip. It provides you coverage for a limited period of time only. People usually purchase travel health insurance when they are going on a foreign trip. Whether you need such coverage or not depends on how probable is that you will need some medical care while you are in another country as well as on your ability to find enough money for treatment, if the need arises.

For most people, particularly for the ones who are not very young, are traveling to an undeveloped area or have certain pre-existing medical conditions, such health insurance is quite necessary.

Travel health insurance for the elderly

Older people should pay special attention to the fact that Medicare does not pay for any medical care or hospital treatment outside the United States. Therefore, if you go abroad on a trip, you will be completely on your own there unless you purchase another health insurance for safe traveling.

Medicare Advantage plans and some Medigap policies provide emergency health care coverage for foreign traveling when you go anywhere outside the United States. Before leaving your country, you should look over very carefully what kind of insurance you already have.

Risks of illness

Traveling abroad can be quite difficult for any person, taking into account the drastic changes in climate and elevation and the presence of various unfamiliar microbes. In certain parts of the world, questionable sanitation and water quality compound the hazards.

According to the recommendation of the State Department, everyone who has a pre-existing medical condition of any kind, ranging from allergies to a heart problem, should carry a letter written by their physician that describes this condition as well as the treatment for it. Moreover, such people must have a list of prescription drugs that are currently used by them. The medications should be carried in the original containers with the original labels