For Those on Medicare - What Health Insurance When in Africa?

[jpr9954]

I am on Medicare A & B plus a supplement. Since Medicare does not cover you outside the US, what options have people found that will cover you if you get sick or injured while on a hunt?

Will Ripcord or Global Rescue suffice or should I be looking at something different?

I put my deposit down for a hunt in the Eastern Cape for June 2024 so planning is beginning in earnest.

Thanks

 

[discap]

Great question waiting for knowledgeable replies

 

[YancyW]

Most Medicaid Advantage plans offer international coverage on trip under a certain number of weeks. You might check and see MA plans you have available to you in your area.

 

[sierraone]

I use Global Rescue to get me out of Africa and back to my home state and take care of me until I get home. I buy for the time frame I plan on being in Africa. Never had a reason to use it so far.

 

[Hunt anything]

+1 global rescue,

 

[jpr9954]

Most Medicaid Advantage plans offer international coverage on trip under a certain number of weeks. You might check and see MA plans you have available to you in your area.

I am not on Medicare Advantage and could not switch until the next open enrollment even if I wanted to.

For those on MA, this is an alternative and it sounds like a good one.

However, I am still looking for options for traditional Medicare.

 

[Shootist43]

Does Global Rescue offer Medical Insurance Coverage while you are in a foreign country or just Return Flights , Medical Evacuation and or Extraction?

For Medical Coverage on both of my Safaris I used International Medical Group. Following is a link to their website https://www.imglobal.com/?msclkid=6...rm=im global insurance&utm_content=IMG: Exact

 

[jpr9954]

I use Global Rescue to get me out of Africa and back to my home state and take care of me until I get home. I buy for the time frame I plan on being in Africa. Never had a reason to use it so far.

As I understand what you are saying is that you are using Global Rescue to stabilize you, get you back to the States, and get the needed non-acute medical care in the US.

 

[sierraone]

As I understand what you are saying is that you are using Global Rescue to stabilize you, get you back to the States, and get the needed non-acute medical care in the US.

Once they get me back to my home area, I go back to my Medicare and Military retirement insurance.
When you talk to the company you will find they have different types of coverage. You decide which you want and what you are willing to pay for, such as extracting you from a war zone.

 

[jpr9954]

Does Global Rescue offer Medical Insurance Coverage while you are in a foreign country or just Return Flights , Medical Evacuation and or Extraction?

For Medical Coverage on both of my Safaris I used International Medical Group. Following is a link to their website https://www.imglobal.com/?msclkid=6b7e7ca87cd81052c65718318d1bc773&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=IMG - Branded (Bing)&utm_term=im global insurance&utm_content=IMG: Exact

Thanks for the link the IMG. I will check them out. I will also check out the terms of my MedSupp policy with Mutual of Omaha.

 

[ActionBob]

During my first hunt to RSA, I met a guy at camp with a fractured foot. He was in a very good walking cast and getting out to hunt. He had just come from a hunt in Namibia where he injured the foot.

He was telling me how the whole time, like a couple hours, that they were taking x rays and putting the cast thing on... He was on his phone arguing with his insurance company, trying to get them to cover this. He was on hold when they handed the bill at the emergency room. It was the equivalent of $40. He hung up the phone, paid the bill, got in the truck with his PH and went back to camp

I got sick while touring Krueger a week before a hunt and went to a pharmacy to get some antibiotics. They told me I needed a prescription and directed me to a room in the back where they had a doctor. She asked a few questions and felt my forehead, asked what kind of antibiotics I wanted, wrote out a prescription and charged me $10.

Global rescue for real emergency situations in the far out back country. In the East Cape you are never going to need a helicopter to get you out, roads are good and everywhere. If you are really concerned, get something but if you are reasonably healthier?

 

[sierraone]

During my first hunt to RSA, I met a guy at camp with a fractured foot. He was in a very good walking cast and getting out to hunt. He had just come from a hunt in Namibia where he injured the foot.

He was telling me how the whole time, like a couple hours, that they were taking x rays and putting the cast thing on... He was on his phone arguing with his insurance company, trying to get them to cover this. He was on hold when they handed the bill at the emergency room. It was the equivalent of $40. He hung up the phone, paid the bill, got in the truck with his PH and went back to camp

I got sick while touring Krueger a week before a hunt and went to a pharmacy to get some antibiotics. They told me I needed a prescription and directed me to a room in the back where they had a doctor. She asked a few questions and felt my forehead, asked what kind of antibiotics I wanted, wrote out a prescription and charged me $10.

Global rescue for real emergency situations in the far out back country. In the East Cape you are never going to need a helicopter to get you out, roads are good and everywhere. If you are really concerned, get something but if you are reasonably healthier?

Had to get four stitches in a knee from the local hospital ER in Kosovo a few years ago. Even though I had insurance, the total bill was less than $70. In stead of filling out insurance paper work, just paid them out of my pocket. Dental was the same way. If I needed a dentist, just paid out of my wallet.

 

[Mark Biggerstaff]

Similar results for me this past trip.
Went into respiratory distress. I could not get any oxygen into lungs. Ph rushed me to hospital. Met ambulance on the way. Treated on ambulance and stayed 4 hours in emergency room in Rustenburg. Treated and taken well care of. Total bill for ambulance and ER was $229 just paid it and was happy to be alive. Didn't file any insurance. But yes I always take out Global Rescue and. Travel insurance policy. For major issues if it were to happen.

 

[NE 7x57]

Years ago I was in Paraguay and had a tooth ache. After putting up with it for the better part of a week I finally went to a dentist. A very attractive young lady who after looking at my tooth said I needed a root canal. I'd never had one and certainly never thought I'd have one in South America.

Long story short I had the procedure and when it came time to pay him he charged me $260. I submitted a claim to whoever I had travel insurance with and got most of that back. A year later I had to have a root canal in the US. Wrote a check for $1400. Neither of those prices included the crown but I'm sure having that done in Paraguay would have been a lot cheaper. No problems with either.

I usually use Ripcord when I travel.

 

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[rookhawk]

Does Global Rescue offer Medical Insurance Coverage while you are in a foreign country or just Return Flights , Medical Evacuation and or Extraction?

For Medical Coverage on both of my Safaris I used International Medical Group. Following is a link to their website https://www.imglobal.com/?msclkid=6b7e7ca87cd81052c65718318d1bc773&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=IMG - Branded (Bing)&utm_term=im global insurance&utm_content=IMG: Exact

Global Rescue "rescues" you. They'll get you a medical evac jet. They'll get John's Hopkins on the phone for guideance. But its not medical insurance. If you need a heart transplant while on safari and its a million bucks, they do not pay your hospital bill.

I'm not sure they even cover the nurses on a medical evac jet either. You might get a six-figure bill. Their job is to rescue you, not to fund your care.

Extraction isn't the same as medical insurance.