[Sharyn]

Re: Traveling experiences or advice

by Sharyn on Tue Jan 20, 2015 4:46 pm

Hi shaznics,

My hubby and I were planning on also traveling to Canada / USA and have looked at nearly every policy available. Due to multiple myeloma damaging my husband's spine, we cannot get any travel insurance. Most of the polices here exclude any type of cancer. The only one we found that would possibly cover you is Chartis Travel Insurance.

We did find that Canada does cover travel insurance non-residents and will cover for pre-existing conditions as long as they are stable and no change in treatment for 4 months prior to travel. It only covers emergencies, but I figure enough to stabilize you and get you home.

From memory of reading the PDS, they will cover you in America but the majority (starting and finishing) is in Canada. Maybe you can make a big holiday as well as dropping your son off

Can you please let us know if you do manage to find someone to cover you?

Good luck, and I really hope you all manage to go.

[shaznics]

Re: Traveling experiences or advice

by shaznics on Fri Jan 23, 2015 7:53 pm

Hi Sharynhey

I haven't found insurance yet, but we are waiting for the next appointment with hubby's oncologist to get his verdict on his status and how we should be answering all the insurance questions -- e.g., he had some kidney damage at diagnosis, but it appears to be reversed now, so do we say yes or no to kidney damage, etc.

But will definitely let you know what we find. I will start calling around after the next appointment in about 3 weeks.

Take care.

[shaznics]

Re: Traveling experiences or advice

by shaznics on Fri Jan 23, 2015 7:55 pm

Thanks everyone for all the replies. We are going to get a verdict from the doctor and then start hunting down insurance companies!

[Eric Hofacket]

Re: Traveling experiences or advice

by Eric Hofacket on Fri Jan 23, 2015 8:19 pm

Shaznics,

I have been looking into traveling to France this summer and learned like you have that anyone with myeloma, or even healthy people, need to spend some time doing some research into travel insurance and what can be expected if a problem should occur while on travel.

For one, my HMO told me that in France they will hold your passport and not let you leave the country until medical bills are paid, while in the UK, they do not do this.

I was also told by my HMO that I would be re­sponsible for paying the bills to a hospital outside the US myself and my HMO would reimburse me directly upon showing treatment records and receipts, but my HMO would not pay the treating facility directly. This was because of fraud problems where they had been paying bills to hospitals outside of the US that did not exist. So if I ran up a $20,000 hospital bill in France, would I have the means to pay it myself before I would be reimbursed? That could be a challenge. Other insurance plans may do differently.

I also learned that, while measles is largely non-existent in the US and most of us who have had a SCT have not had the MMR vaccination, in France there have been 23,000 reported cases of measles in the last 5 years. There is an ongoing outbreak now in Wales and in the Netherlands. The MMR vaccination is something I may need to pursue.

I also learned that, while I do not need a visa to travel to France, I can buy health insurance at the French consulate or embassy in the US that is good in France or all the countries in the EU before I travel.

Lesson learned: it could really pay to do some investigative research before traveling.

[Ron Harvot]

Re: Traveling experiences or advice

by Ron Harvot on Sat Jan 24, 2015 12:32 am

Eric,

Thanks for the advice. I am going to Italy in part to watch the GIRO (Tour of Italy) bike race in May. But also will stay in Florence, see Pisa, Rome, Milan and Tuscany in general. Most of the travel while there will be on trains with lots of people. I did not have an SCT and have traveled to Belgium and rode the trains while there. Luckily I was never sick. However, the idea of insurance is worth looking into.

Ron

[torimooney]

Re: Traveling experiences or advice

by torimooney on Fri Jan 30, 2015 3:08 pm

Check out CSA travel insurance. I believe they offer a premium plan where they will wave a pre-existing condition if you purchase the insurance more than 6 months before you take your trip.

I travel a lot and, before diagnosis, I needed to make a claim twice -- once for a fractured shoulder in Bali, and the other for a fractured wrist in Chile that required surgery there. Each time they paid in full for the care I received.