Travel Insurance that pays medical fees direct

[pj123]

I normally purchase travel insurance from Worldcare or Axa but this time I am looking for travel insurance for my niece who is attending a summer program in the US. I would like to find a product that will pay the hospital direct rather than the insured having to be reimbursed for hospital fees. Bupa, Axa, AIG all pay by reimbursement. I am checking with Chubb. Any other suggestions? 

[impulse]

16 hours ago, pj123 said:

Any other suggestions? 

 

I have no suggestions for travel insurance, but I do recommend you make sure she has a credit card with some room on it that she can use to start the payment process at the hospital.  Then if all other options fail...

 

Not a debit card, BTW.  I tried to use a Thai bank debit card before some surgery, but they insisted on a credit card.  It had plenty of room on it as it was backed by my bank account, but they wouldn't accept it (famous BKK tourist hospital, too)

 

Also, make sure she keeps ON HER PERSON the insurance details in case she ends up in an emergency room without the ability to go back to her room for that info.

[pj123]

Thanks. I have asked her mother to add her to the mother's credit card account

[gk10002000]

i looked far and wide and have never found a travel insurance that pays direct.  All were reimbursable later.  However, I am pretty sure you can get some short term or temporary medical insurance coverage.  While similar, it is a different angle

[theoldgit]

Maybe look at non Thai companies who, though based overseas, will cover travellers from Thailand and pay any bills directly. worldnomads.com are one such company and you can buy and manage online and even claim, I believe they're owned by BUPA.

I was insured with AXA on a trip to Singapore a few years ago, whilst there I had a heart attack and knocked up a bill in excess of 600,000, whilst AXA did eventually reimburse most of my costs I had to cough up first. I was in ICU with the doctors telling me to avoid stress whilst the admin department were presenting me with bills on a regular basis and AXA refusing to confirm they would meet the bills, my stress levels were going through the roof.

[Jeffkp]

Is this summer program offered by a school? Perhaps contact them. They may offer insurance for these students or recommend a company that does.

[Cerasoli]

Hi,

I always take a medical insurance by AXA.

2 years ago, I had to go to a Bangkok hostpital and I did not pay anything.

But you have to know that AXA has a contract with every Bangkok hospital.

So, you must respect their rules.

First contact AXA and they will tell you where you must go to be cared for.

And you wont have to pay anything, except may be a very small insurance deductible

[Suradit69]

Whether or not an insurance company is prepared to pay directly to the hospital, it's the hospital that has to agree to accept that arrangement with the insurer.

 

Also, should your niece need medical care, she is likely to first see a private practice doctor or satellite emergency clinic or walk in treatment center and/or be transported by a private ambulance service. Expecting any of these to accept direct payment from an insurance company (that may or may not cover such services) is unlikely unless it's a major insurer with offices in the US that can be called to confirm that payment will be made.

 

If she is attending a summer program on a university or college campus with residential facilities, they would most likely have a clinic on campus and the sponsors of the program may be the best source of information regarding medical coverage for the duration of the program.

[Ulic]

5 hours ago, Suradit69 said:

Whether or not an insurance company is prepared to pay directly to the hospital, it's the hospital that has to agree to accept that arrangement with the insurer.

 

Also, should your niece need medical care, she is likely to first see a private practice doctor or satellite emergency clinic or walk in treatment center and/or be transported by a private ambulance service. Expecting any of these to accept direct payment from an insurance company (that may or may not cover such services) is unlikely unless it's a major insurer with offices in the US that can be called to confirm that payment will be made.

 

If she is attending a summer program on a university or college campus with residential facilities, they would most likely have a clinic on campus and the sponsors of the program may be the best source of information regarding medical coverage for the duration of the program.

Most travel insurance is emergency travel insurance not healthcare coverage. If it is not an emergency

you are expected to return to your home country and get medical attention there. It does not matter if this

is inconvenient for you or you have to fly home early. Insurance companies really don't like to pay. 

[superal]

22 hours ago, theoldgit said:

Maybe look at non Thai companies who, though based overseas, will cover travellers from Thailand and pay any bills directly. worldnomads.com are one such company and you can buy and manage online and even claim, I believe they're owned by BUPA.

I was insured with AXA on a trip to Singapore a few years ago, whilst there I had a heart attack and knocked up a bill in excess of 600,000, whilst AXA did eventually reimburse most of my costs I had to cough up first. I was in ICU with the doctors telling me to avoid stress whilst the admin department were presenting me with bills on a regular basis and AXA refusing to confirm they would meet the bills, my stress levels were going through the roof.

Crazy story but believable as I had a similar experience when I became very  ill and was admitted to a hospital in the northeast of Thailand . I  had to deal with contacting the insurance company as the Thai admin could not make herself understood .  The hospital were not accustomed to dealing with farang ins; co; and the 7 hour time difference made matters worse as there was only an agent , who served several companies , to take the call .

           So the post has a real message inasmuch that you really need to have access to sufficient funds to cover the costs as you did but I think that there would be many folks unable to do so . Having a fellow countryman friend with you to help deal with the insurance & hospital admin would solve most of the problems .   Finally , what would happen if you were unconscious , would they give the treatment without monetary  proof of funds to settle the bill ?

[theoldgit]

As I was being resuscitated my then long term girlfriend, now my wife, was being asked for a deposit of SGD 5,000, about THB 125,000, which she was able to pay on her credit card, I'm confident that they wouldn't have let me die and to be fair I didn't pay until a few days after I checked out.

What AXA wouldn't pay for was the outpatients visits after I'd been discharged, our extended accommodation costs in Singapore or our rescheduled flights home to Bangkok, we'd only gone for a long weekend and finished up being stuck there for almost a month.

 

[theoldgit]

18 hours ago, Cerasoli said:

Hi,

I always take a medical insurance by AXA.

2 years ago, I had to go to a Bangkok hostpital and I did not pay anything.

But you have to know that AXA has a contract with every Bangkok hospital.

So, you must respect their rules.

First contact AXA and they will tell you where you must go to be cared for.

And you wont have to pay anything, except may be a very small insurance deductible

You seem to be talking about medical insurance, in fact you've said so, not travel insurance which is what this thread is about.

The fact that AXA will pay your medical care costs here in Bangkok will not really help the OP's niece who is looking for cover half way around the globe.