What Is Travel Medical Insurance and How Does It Work?
Travel medical insurance pays for hospital visits if you get sick or injured while traveling outside the United States.
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It's a good idea to buy a travel medical plan if you're going outside the country. That's because most regular health insurance plans offer coverage only inside the U.S.
There is no one-size-fits-all plan. You'll have to consider what you want covered and how much you're willing to pay when shopping for travel medical insurance.
What is travel medical insurance?
Travel health insurance pays for emergency medical services while you're traveling outside the country.
If you get sick or injured in a foreign country, a travel health insurance policy may pay for some or all of your medical costs. Depending on your policy, you may have to pay for some services yourself. But you can often get paid back by filing a reimbursement claim with your insurance company.
Travel medical insurance covers fewer services and has more restrictions than regular health insurance policies. It's a good idea to call your travel insurance company or carefully read your policy details to make sure you have the coverage you need before you leave the country.
Some travel credit cards offer a limited amount of emergency health insurance when traveling outside the U.S. Keep in mind, credit cards typically offer far less coverage than you'd get with a travel medical insurance policy.
But credit card protection may be your best option if you're going on a short trip to a safe country or you can't afford a regular travel health insurance policy.
What does travel medical insurance cover?
Travel medical plans typically have less coverage than regular health insurance.
Travel medical insurance covers emergency procedures and other health services that can't wait until you get back to America.
Services commonly covered by travel medical insurance plans
- Emergency dental services
- Emergency surgeries
- Medical evacuation
- Prescription drugs
- Ambulance rides
- Hospital bills
- Lab tests
- X-rays
For example, most travel medical insurance plans will pay for surgery to fix a broken ankle or hospital stays if you contract a serious disease. Travel health insurance also often covers emergency dental procedures, such as a chipped or broken tooth.
A travel health insurance policy would not cover non-urgent services, such as an annual checkup or an optional procedure, such as Botox injections or weight loss surgery.
Coverage for many travel medical insurance plans won't start until you pay a certain amount, called a deductible.
After you meet your deductible, some travel health policies require that you pay a certain percentage of your medical bill, called coinsurance. For example, if you have an $800 deductible and 20% coinsurance, then you would be responsible for $1,040 on a $2,000 medical bill.
Your share of a $2,000 medical bill
You pay | Insurance pays | |
|---|---|---|
| Deductible | $800 | $0 |
| 20% coinsurance | $240 | $960 |
| Total cost | $1,040 | $960 |
Some travel medical policies come with a limit or maximum coverage amount. For example, a plan may pay out only $250,000 for medical services. After you reach that figure, you have to cover any extra costs.
If you plan on living overseas for six months or more, consider long-term travel insurance. These plans have similar coverage to what you'd get with regular health insurance.
These policies are especially important for people who intend to retire overseas. That's because Medicare doesn't cover services outside of the U.S. (Medigap plans G, F and N pay up to 80% of your foreign emergency costs, making these plans a good choice for short trips out of the country.)
What doesn't travel health insurance cover?
Travel medical insurance will not pay for most routine or preventive services, such as your annual checkup, cancer screenings and vaccines.
Plus, travel health insurance plans typically won't pay for nonessential procedures, such as LASIK eye surgery, fertility treatments or cosmetic surgery. That means travel health insurance typically won't pay for medical tourism-related procedures.
Travel medical insurance plans often won't cover pandemic-related diseases.
For example, many travel medical insurance plans wouldn't have paid for hospital stays caused by COVID-19 in 2020. Many companies also don't offer coverage in countries that have a do-not-travel advisory from the U.S. Department of State.
Double-check with your travel medical insurance company before buying a policy to make sure you'll have coverage in all of your destination countries.
Travel medical insurance companies can refuse to cover preexisting conditions. To avoid this problem, get your policy when you buy your plane ticket.
That's because many policies cover preexisting conditions if bought within two weeks of when you book your trip.
Primary vs. secondary travel insurance
You may have to submit all of your medical bills to your regular health insurance before your travel medical coverage starts.
If you're covered by more than one health insurance plan, then the plan that pays first is called your primary insurance and the plan that pays next is secondary, a process called coordination of benefits. Your travel health insurance policy will tell you whether it acts as your primary or secondary insurance.
This can lead to frustrating delays, since you'll need to wait until your primary insurance has denied your claim before you can get coverage from your travel medical policy.
Different types of travel medical insurance
You can choose from several different types of travel medical insurance depending on your needs.
When shopping for travel medical insurance, it's important to decide whether you need a standalone policy that only offers medical coverage or if it makes sense to get bundled travel coverage that covers medical emergencies, trip cancellations and lost luggage, called comprehensive medical travel insurance.
Stand-alone medical insurance plans typically cost less than comprehensive travel plans. But a comprehensive policy may make more sense if you plan on going to several countries or you're traveling with expensive items, such as jewelry or laptops.
Single-trip medical travel insurance vs. multitrip policies
Single-trip medical travel insurance begins when you leave the U.S., and it ends when you return.
A single-trip health insurance policy covers just one trip outside the country. It doesn't matter how long you travel, as long as it falls within the policy limits. So your single-trip medical plan would work for either a long weekend in Mexico or a one-month backpacking trip across India.
It doesn't matter how many countries you visit with a single-trip policy, so long as you don't return to the U.S. between trips. A single-trip health plan would cover a vacation to England, Spain and France if you went to each country one after the other.
If you're a frequent traveler, you should consider a plan that lets you go back to the U.S. between trips, called a multitrip policy. With a multitrip plan, you can visit as many countries as you want within a certain time frame. For example, a policy that lasts for six months would cover you for a vacation to Canada in June and a trip to Japan in September.
How much does international travel medical insurance cost?
International travel medical insurance tends to be quite affordable, with many plans running between about 4% to 10% of your trip cost. Comprehensive plans are usually more expensive, at 8% to 15% of your trip cost.
Factors influencing travel medical insurance costs
- Your age
- Trip length
- Where you live
- Coverage limits
- The plan you choose
- The number of people on your plan
You can typically lower your rate by raising the amount you pay before coverage starts, called your deductible. Choosing a plan with a lower payout limit and fewer covered services can also help you save money.
But it's important to remember that choosing a plan with less coverage could mean you're responsible for much higher hospital bills if you have a medical emergency.
Frequently asked questions
What is travel medical insurance?
Travel health insurance pays for emergency medical services while you're traveling outside the U.S. These plans typically offer less coverage than regular health insurance.
What does travel medical insurance cover?
Travel medical insurance typically covers emergency services. For example, a typical policy would pay if you needed to get your appendix removed or if you fell and broke your leg.
Is it worth getting travel medical insurance?
It's usually a good idea to get travel health insurance if you plan on visiting another country because of the high cost of many medical procedures. Plus, some countries require international visitors to have a travel medical policy.
Sources and methodology
Travel medical insurance cost information was taken from the Massachusetts state government and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Medicare Supplement plan information came from Medicare.gov.
Editorial note: The content of this article is based on the author's opinions and recommendations alone. It has not been previewed, commissioned or otherwise endorsed by any of our network partners.
