Canada trip health insurance options?

Briar Rabbit

Briar Rabbit

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Rob
I plan to make two fishing trips to Canada this summer if they reopen the border. I have Medicare coverage and a Medicare extended policy. My understanding is that this will not cover any need for health care North of the border should an unexpected need occur. Anyone have suggestions for some form of trip insurance? Have been told before that generally trip insurance is a waste of money but no personal experience?
 
You are correct that Medicare will not pay for any medical services outside of the US. A travel insurance policy is a good idea if you travel internationally, and will cover things like repatriation home if you are sick or injured, rental cars, hotels/meals in case of flight delays and lost luggage. I get an annual policy from Allianz for about $125, and it usually pays for itself.
Jon
 
I got bit on this last year - Canada does not (at this time) recognize Basic Med. Had a conference to attend, was going to GA - nope. Didn't want to go thru the hoops of getting my Class 3 back.
 
Unfortunately will not be flying, have not figured out how to tow the boat trailer behind the bird :confused:
And I am basic med too.
 
Exactly what problems are you insuring. I have hunted in Canada for a month from 2006-2019. Had one issue with a laceration requiring some stitches. $90 CD took care of it at the Docs office. $400 CD would have got me treatment at the hospital.
 
Clip4 said:
Exactly what problems are you insuring. I have hunted in Canada for a month from 2006-2019. Had one issue with a laceration requiring some stitches. $90 CD took care of it at the Docs office. $400 CD would have got me treatment at the hospital.
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No specific ailments, just catastrophic coverage such as might be needed for a car wreck? Hope I am not jinxing myself?
 
murphey said:
I got bit on this last year - Canada does not (at this time) recognize Basic Med. Had a conference to attend, was going to GA - nope. Didn't want to go thru the hoops of getting my Class 3 back.
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Huh??? The OP is asking about health insurance, not his medical.
 
Briar Rabbit said:
No specific ailments, just catastrophic coverage such as might be needed for a car wreck? Hope I am not jinxing myself?
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The only times I purchased insurance for travel I was scuba diving in the Galapagos ect and was insuring for med evac off a yacht.
 
Look at GeoBlue individual policies. If it's a concern, check the pre-existing conditions provisions - some of the policies do cover pre-existing conditions.
 
If you get injured and fixed, you go home. Then they start sending you bills. In the US. ;)
 
OneCharlieTango said:
If you get injured and fixed, you go home. Then they start sending you bills. In the US. ;)
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That was not my experience for a laceration, the hospital asked if I had $385 cash. I did, they cleaned the wound in the hospital for free and sent me across the street to a docs office where $88 was collected after giving me a tetanus shot and sewing me up.

In some countries, you aren’t going home without paying up. Canada isn’t one on them.
 
I learned that my Medicare Supplement policy which is with Mutual of Omaha includes $50,000 of primary coverage if traveling in Canada.

Think I am going to rely on that. I have been in Canada about 30 times without ever having an incident so sounds to me that makes it worth the risk.
 
You might want to check on one of the Medicare advantage policies. I think they have some international coverage but wouldn't swear to it:confused2:
 
Our ADVantage plan is called and ESP plan. I'm sure some are differant, but ESP is extended service plan. It "should" cover us worldwide, or is suppose to. I really don't want to test that out. I have seen several world plans that worked well. Most are designed to get you stable, and then transport you back to the USA. The motorcycle community is pretty well versed in them. As in Ask @ ADVenture rider about it and you will get lots of hits. Also, Medicare "may" pay. But in most countries you will need to contribute a good credit card with large limits in order to start treatment, or they send you down the road, no matter how critical you are. One country applied $10k US $$$ to my card to start to treat a co-worker, otherwise, GET LOST. That said the medical treatment was extremely good. In that case, the cost was not of consideration. So now to Medicare. Medicare is not really opposed to paying the bill in foreign countries ,but since its govt, it has unlimited redtape. So you will pay, then submit to Medicare for reimbursement. If everything is in English and in US dollars and in US approved code, they MAY reimburse you. I have seen it reimbursed, but it must be interpreted in their language properly. Probably best to find a good world wide plan, and pay the premium. Ours is sponsored by my last employer,(I'm retired) and is through Aetna. Extremely expensive monthly, but a very good plan.
 
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