Although a doctor or hospital visit isn’t anyone’s idea of a great vacation, it’s important to prepare for the unexpected when planning a trip.
“Make sure you know your insurance plan and its coverage inside and out,” said Shawn Stack, a policy director at the Healthcare Financial Management Association. Although it’s possible you won’t find an in-network facility far from home, that’s not a guarantee. Most insurance companies have portals where patients can find an urgent care facility, for example, where a visit will be covered.
“There might be [a facility] just as close that your plan would want you to go to that is in network and would cost you much less,” he said.
Traveling outside the country can make healthcare a little trickier, as the healthcare systems outside the U.S. operate very differently.
“My recommendation would be that you look into travel medical insurance every time you travel abroad,” Stack said. Without that coverage, you may be asked to pay for your care up front.
He also cautioned that some prescription medications could be difficult to obtain, so it’s a good idea to pack more than you need just in case of a delay.
“Make sure you put a buffer in there,” he said. “Once you travel abroad, medications can be called different things, and it can get very confusing very quickly if you have to refill or go to an emergency room or urgent care-like facility to get your medications.”