A Mexican Surprise: Travel Insurance Gone Wrong
When the opportunity to travel presented itself, a busy young family booked a flight to Mexico with their first baby in tow. The father is a police detective and the mother a nurse. Of course, you need all the vacation you can get!
Before setting off, they took the time to double-check their travel insurance. They were already covered through an employer-provided group plan with full benefits, guaranteed to cover any symptom of a medical issue. This would be their first trip as a family so they were very concerned about their child's well-being. As good parents, they would make sure to feed her well and that she only drank clean water. No worries.
But that was not the case. On the third day of their vacation, the baby girl contracted stomach pains – a medical condition - much to her parents' dismay. They hoped it would go away but unfortunately it did not.
Most of us don't think about travel insurance until we wind up in a foreign country and unexpectedly become ill or injured. Besides language barrier (if you happen to be in a country where only a few speak English), not knowing what to do or who to turn to for support can be a very intimidating prospect.
Moving onward, the young family checked into a local Mexican hospital. Since it was situated in a major tourist hotspot, the hospital was well-equipped and had excellent facilities. The baby girl was finally admitted and assigned to a bed after a few discussions in Spanish-filled English. The concerned parents had already touched base with their insurance company, which managed to help them this far on their trip. Doctor's findings showed that the girl had a bad case of gastroenteritis and expensive medication was necessary to cure her. The parents had difficulty understanding the real situation but with a little help from bilingual people, things eventually worked out fine.
Just as the girl was about to get better (though still admitted to the hospital), the travel medical insurance company called to say the claim was denied and they would not be responsible for the bill. Naturally, the parents panicked. So did the hospital. Panic filled the air even though the little girl was on the verge of recovery. She apparently had a minor ear infection weeks before their scheduled trip and, according to the insurer, her gastroenteritis was only a continuation of that pre-existing condition.
What an outrageous and nonsensical excuse! The insurance company had washed their hands clean. If you can recall, the parents made an effort to call the company BEFORE they hopped on a plane for Mexico. The company was informed about the ear infection and the girl was not only cleared to travel but she also received full coverage by her doctor and the insurance company itself.
The young family had to act quickly lest their bills end up piling, one on top of the other. They attempted to check out of the hospital only to be blocked from leaving. The girl would not be discharged until they paid the bill IN FULL. This is nothing more but common kidnapping and incidents like this one happen more frequently than we know.
Normally, given how tense the situation is, you would just pay the entire bill and get as far away as possible from that place. Lobby for justice later on. And so now we go to the next problem: credit cards.
Too few credit cards with high credit limit are issued to young families or seniors, who still could not leave even after maxing out their credit limit to pay the hospital bill. What a stroke of luck that a relative of theirs could lend them their credit card number to pay the rest.
On average, Medipac receives $40-50,000 worth of hospital bills per day and a one-day stay at the hospital far exceeds the credit limit of 90% of Canadians. So what happens if they “kidnap” you because you can't pay? You have to resolve this question before you set off somewhere. Consider with caution how your travel insurance provider will likely address the situation.
First off, look for a travel medical insurance plan that covers several languages. You certainly need one with the ability to quickly wire money to foreign hospitals in their currency. For certain, you have heard of stories about people not admitted to a hospital without upfront payment. It's better to get out of the hospital when you completely feel better. There are hospitals that detain patients for two or three more days (perhaps in a bid to fish for more money). A word to the wise? Get out of that hospital as fast as you can. Who knows what diseases are running around in there.
Another interesting thing is that some Mexican hospitals will charge you in U.S. dollars. How is this any different from a Canadian hospital billing a foreigner in drachmas? This may not really be the case but you know what I mean. Never pay any amount less than $200US. They're obviously billing tourists more than what's necessary. Furthermore, be attentive to a bill that says 1200 (most likely in the local currency). They accept U.S. dollars in that amount.
As far as insurance policy goes, many group policies do not cover emergency evacuation. Should you need to be transported back to Canada via air ambulance, you have to deal with US$10,000 to US$200,000, or more, depending on your location. You may have noticed how expensive it is to evacuate Canadians in highly secure containment units from Ebola-stricken Africa back to the country. Ask this question before leaving on a trip: “Am I covered for a medical emergency evacuation?” If not, then you may want to postpone that African safari until the virus dissipates.
Be on guard against low limits of $50,000 and $100,000 commonly found on some insurance policies. There have been claims wherein an insurer sent a $50,000 cheque to the hospital on the first day of admission only to backtrack and withdraw responsibility over the claim. And then you find yourself unaided and alone in a foreign hospital. A responsible insurer will not be this insensitive.
On the brighter side, the young family sought help from Medipac. We contacted a senior officer of the insurance company in questions and because we know him well, we informed him that Medipac would handle the claim and bill them for all charges and services unless they present a solution to those mounting hospital bills. And thankfully they did – though it was not until after several months that the young family was reimbursed by the insurer.