Medical travel or commonly known as medical tourism has been established as patients search for improved accessibility, availability, and affordable quality healthcare services across borders.

Whether it is tooth replacement in Mexico or a heart surgery in India, the factor of adding a vacation to a visit to a foreign country seems persuasive.

Yet, it is worth knowing that just one important aspect of travelling for medical purposes is often ignored – medical travel insurance.

In this blog, Karetrip explains the importance of medical travel. Let’s dive in.

What is medical travel insurance?

Medical insurance, also known as health insurance, is a financial product that covers medical expenses for illness or injury. It's a contract between an individual and an insurance company, where the individual pays a premium and the insurance company pays a percentage of their medical expenses.

Uses of Medical Travel Insurance

1. Treatment Cost

No matter what the surgery is , it involves some risk. It may take high charges and if there are other complications , the possibility of doing another round of surgery is expensive. Insurance assists in meeting these health costs.

2. Post Acute and Rehospitalization

Some medical treatments can entitle a patient to some follow up care, particularly if it is a cosmetic surgery, bariatric surgery or the placing of dental implants. The needs of further care or an extra procedure can be covered through insurance since these will be reimbursed and exclude out of pocket expenses.

3. Emergency Medical Evacuation

Medical emergencies can strike unexpectedly. If the treating hospital is unable to handle a complication, you may need to be transferred to a specialised facility. Medical evacuations, especially international ones, can be extremely expensive. A good medical travel insurance policy ensures that you get the necessary treatment, even if it involves transporting you back to your home country.

4. Travel cancellations and Interferences

Health is unpredictable. Medical travel insurance usually includes cancellation, interruption, and change over expenses so that you are not left holding the expense of consecutive non-utilized flight and lodging bookings.

5. Non Medical Coverage

Insurance also covers aspects that are not related to health for instance, your luggage not arriving with you, your flight being delayed. It can provide coverage for lost personal property, flight delays, schedule mishaps, trip interruptions due to certain conditions – a round safety net for the entire medical trip or process.

What Should One Look For in Medical Insurance ?

• Choose packages that offer availing the treatments for diseases that one was suffering from before travelling, surgical operations, and acute and chronic diseases apart from routine and global travel risks. It will be helpful to comprehend the omissions and regard making sure that the plan matches your treatment as well as location.

• Emergency assistance and repatriation: Make sure that your policy will pay for emergency medical evacuations and transporting you back to your home country. In some areas, there is a possibility that they do not have the best of the medical facilities and therefore, evacuation will be inevitable.

• 24/7 Assistance: Select an insurance provider who can provide client support any time of the day. If there is something like a complication or an emergency, you need someone to help at any given moment with things like transport, place of treatment search, or a brief on the existing health care legislation.

• Pre-Authorization: Insurance providers often earmark pre-authorization for some other treatments. Talk to your Insurance company if you wish to know what you need to do in order to get the best out of their service.

• Direct Billing Options: If possible, it is preferable to select those insurance companies which make payments straight to the hospital and clinic. This reduces the cost that is borne directly by the individuals thus easing the process of claims.

Common Questions About Medical Travel Insurance

1. Is it travel insurance with annual limits or travel insurance medical?

Normally, this may not be such a big issue since other forms of travel insurance frequently do cover such things like trip cancellations or non-refundable expenses due to the loss of baggage; however, it will not protect the individual in the case of medical complications following a surgery or elective procedure or any issues connected with any emergency evacuations.

Medical travel insurance is for the health related complications while the tourism related insurance is for other unrelated health conditions and thus more appropriate for medical tourism purposes.

2. Is it possible to buy insurance after declaring my medical travel?

Many policies expect you to take out cover prior to your journey commencing. After initiating treatment, one cannot purchase insurance for that treatment as far as one is under treatment. This policy is therefore advisable to be planned and acquired way before one gets to travel.

The information provided represents the views and opinions of Karetrip. It is crucial to conduct your own independent research before making any decisions regarding your healthcare journey.