Unlike domestic insurances, you will need to pay the pharmacist upfront and then get reimbursed by the insurance company. For visitor’s plans, there is no preferred provider network for pharmacy.  You can go to any pharmacist of your choice. Make sure you have a prescription from a US licensed doctor.

Pharmacies do not maintain a database of customers for short term travel insurances,that’s why they cannot directly bill the insurance company. After making full payment at the pharmacist, file a claim to get reimbursed for covered benefits. Keep a copy of prescription and the payment receipt for claim purpose. Insurance company will reimburse you, based on your policy terms.

When purchasing travel medical insurance, you have the option of including your spouse and children in your policy.
Does it make any difference if you buy a combined plan for the family or buy individually for each person?  It depends on your situation.

If you are traveling with children, combined policies can be less expensive. If your children are below the age of 18 and they are traveling for the same number of days as you, it is advantageous to purchase a combined policy. Most plans give you a lesser price for the kids if their policy is combined with parents.

If you are traveling with your spouse, individual policies will cost the same but they have some advantages: It does not make a difference to your premium amount, policy maximum or benefits if you buy individual policies or combined policies. But buying individual policies gives you more flexibility and advantages.

1. Flexibility to cancel or renew individually: If for some reason, you need to extend or cancel the policy for only one spouse and not the other, then it is much easier to make such change if you have separate policies.

2. Flexibility to choose different Policy Maximum and Deductible: If you buy a combined policy, the policy maximum and deductible are the same for both the spouses. The older spouse’s age group and benefits apply to both. If you buy the plans separately, you can choose different policy options and deductibles.

3. Better options for cancellation refund: For cancellable policies, refund for cancellation is available only if there are no claims for the policy. If you have a combined policy, then any claim, even if it is only for one person, makes the policy ineligible for cancellation refund. If you have two policies for the spouses, then you can at least get the cancellation refund back for the person who did not go to the doctor.

In short, if you are traveling with children for the same number of days, then buy combined policies.  For spouses, it is recommended to purchase separate policies, since they cost the same, but have some advantages.

If you are looking for Visitor insurance that covers EVERYTHING , then let me tell you, no such plan exists anywhere in the world.

There is nothing called “Full Coverage” plan that provides 100% coverage for all your risks. Exclusions are kept in a policy to mitigate the most common and potential risk for the insurance company. This is how the insurance company can keep the premium low, remain in business, and not pay out more than what they earn. Visitors Medical Insurance is no exception to this , the most common exclusion being pre-existing conditions and preventative care.

Then why buy insurance? The fundamental purpose of insurance is to cover for unplanned and unforeseen risks. Protecting yourself is a wise thing to do, especially while travelling abroad, since you are more vulnerable to unforeseen health hazards, accidents, and travel emergencies.

So what you should be looking for?

Focus on what is most important for you. For example: If you are planning to go on a cruise, or mountaineering trip, opt for a plan that covers for medical evacuation, so in case of sudden emergency situation you could be evacuated. If you are traveling abroad with potentially life-threatening pre-existing condition, consider getting a plan that covers for repatriation of mortal remains, if sad and unexpected death does occur.

Every plan is unique. Each plan has different features which may suits your situation or may not.

You can use this great Suggest A Plan tool to analyze your situation and pick a plan that suits your needs. You should also consider speaking to a qualified agent at 1-866-384-9104 to discuss and find the best possible policy for your trip.

Visitors Medical Plans are short-term health plans that usually have little or no coverage for dental or vision care. The question is do visitors really need more expensive vision or dental insurance plans like US residents? It is important to know that what is actually covered in the Vision and Dental insurance, and also discuss what kind of eye and dental care coverage you already get in visitors medical plans.

What does Vision Insurance cover? The vision insurance plans are essentially used for vision correction purposes like corrective lenses, glasses or problems like cataract and glaucoma. People who are visiting the US for a short time should get an extra pair of glasses and get their eyes thoroughly checked in their home countries. You can get the same glasses and procedures done in your home country at a much cheaper cost.

Do not get confused – Vision insurance does not mean coverage for eye-related problems. Any medical problem in the eye which is not related to your vision (eye sight, glasses, lenses, etc) is treated as medical problem and covered under medical insurance. Example: any eye injury is a medical problem.

What does Dental Insurance actually cover? If you look closely at the dental plans, these are essentially preventative in nature. Cleaning, Deep Cleaning, Root Canal, X-rays etc. are usually covered by dental plans. The co-pay and co-insurance amounts for these services are also very high. The dental insurances are themselves pretty expensive. So unless it is an absolute emergency, it doesn’t make sense for visitors to see a dentist for regular preventative care. It is much wiser for visitors to get these preventative cares like cleaning in their home country at a much lesser cost.

Most Comprehensive Visitors Medical Plans also have some coverage for acute emergency dental treatment like acute pain etc.  Any accidental injury to teeth is covered under these plans too. Hence if you are looking for emergency dental care, the Visitors Medical Plans do provide some coverage for that.

Ask for Discount: If you need to go to a dentist for Root Canal or Tooth Extraction, you can always ask them for a discount, and a lot of times they would provide you service at a substantially discounted rate.
You can also use dental or vision discount cards to get a much reduced price for some of these services. You can get more information about discount cards at http://www.visitorscoverage.com/discountcards/

Assess your situation to see if you will need additional coverage for vision or dental. Review your insurance policy and make sure you understand the benefits and exclusions.

Benefit period, is the specific amount of time that benefits are paid for covered services and treatments. The benefit period varies from plan to plan. Benefit period can be the same as the policy period or may be more. Most comprehensive travel medical insurance plans have approximately about 6 months of Benefit Period. Please read your policy Brochure to find out the exact benefit period for your specific plan.

Benefit Period can be useful in the following situations:

   1. If your policy has ended: During the benefit period, the insurance company would pay for covered medical problems that started while the policy was effective. So even if you go back to your home country, or your policy expires, the insurance would still cover for the continued treatment of the medical problem that started during the time the policy was effective.

   2. If your Policy is Expired or Beyond Renewal Period: This feature becomes really crucial if your policy is not renewable, or beyond the date of renewability. If you need continued coverage for a problem that started while the policy was effective, then the insurance would cover it up to the specified benefit period. A new policy would not cover for problems that started in the old policy period, as it becomes pre-existing condition for the new policy.

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One of the major concerns and confusions about Visitors Plans involve the recognition of the plan names. Sometimes we hear our customers voice their frustrations like “I tried calling many hospitals and doctors and they did not recognize the insurance name.“

The 2 most important reasons why the providers might not recognize your visitors insurance are:

1.    Relatively less Use of Visitors Plans

2.    Visitors Insurance Plan Names are Not Widely Known

Relatively Less Use of Visitors Insurance Plans:
Travel Medical insurances are not the main stream insurance plans. Hospital staffs are more familiar with
the domestic insurance plans which they see every day frequently. So if the person at the reception at doctors office does not recognize your “Visitor/ Travel insurance” plan by its name, don’t be surprised.
Visitor insurances are short term plans, which are mostly claim based. The good thing about the US based Travel insurance is that the provider can contact your plan benefit department and may directly bill to the insurance company.

Visitors Insurance Plan Names Are Not Widely Known: 
“Atlas America”, Liaison International, Inbound USA etc. are not the name which a service provider recognizes.  These are just the name of specific Plan that you purchased.  The Providers are better at recognizing the PPO networks (First Health, Multiplan, and Hygeia) associated with your Plan. They also recognize the names of Plan underwriters (like Nationwide, AIG, and Lloyds etc.)
So when you talk to a hospital or doctor, you should give them the names of PPO Network Provider’s, or the Underwriter’s names.  Keep your Insurance certificate / ID handy. It has most of the information, necessary for the hospital administration to contact the insurance benefit department and confirm the coverage or bill to the claims department.

Remember no visitor’s insurance guarantee the direct billing, so, even if you have to make any payment from your pocket, you can always claim and get the reimbursement for any eligible covered benefits as per the policy.

File Claim & Get Reimbursed
This may sound uneasy for most of us who are so used of our domestic health insurance, where showing your insurance ID card and making a small co-payment is all it takes. Visitor Travel insurances are temporary short term plans, which are international in scope.
With these plans, you can have coverage anywhere outside your home country. And you can get services from any hospital or provider of your choice. It is practically impossible for insurance companies to have direct billing tie- ups with all providers throughout the world. So it is the discretion of the provider to bill the insurance company directly, or billing you. If they ask you to pay upfront, ask for the itemized bill from the doctor or hospital and file for a claim. You would be reimbursed for your valid claims. To find out, how to file for claim, please refer to the article Claim Process for Visitors Insurance

Recommended Readings:
Visitors Insurance- How It Works
Visitor’s Insurance Claim Process
Direct Billing or Paying Upfront

Image on this page is from Flickr:

Do we have to pay upfront and then get reimbursed, or will insurance company pays directly to the provider? This is a very frequent question we often hear from our customers.

Is Cashless option or direct billing guaranteed? OR Do I have to pay first?

Travel Visitor insurance plans are temporary health insurance plans, used only for a short duration and meant for a limited use. Hence most of the usual regulations of domestic insurance are not applicable to them.  Travel insurance plans can be used internationally, throughout the world. Hence it is practically impossible to have direct billing guaranteed, and at the same time keeping the cost low.

US based travel insurances, if used within US or Canada, do have the advantage of having a PPO network support, and they are contactable if needed. All major hospital and doctor in the USA do direct billing to the insurance company. While most of the providers in USA do directly communicate and directly bill the insurance company, however sometimes they might ask you to pay upfront and get reimbursed.  If they ask you to pay upfront, and then pay them, ask for the itemized bill you have to get reimbursed by your insurance company.

Rest Assured Your Valid Claims Will be Paid

If you have taken the time to read the plan brochure and understood what is covered and what is not covered, then you can be assured that if you have a valid claim, it would be honored by the insurance company.

Sending Claimant Statement Form is Mandatory for Visitors Insurance Plans:

For all Visitors Insurance plans, filing claim is a mandatory process. You will need to file a claim whether the doctor bills the insurance company directly or asks you to pay upfront. You will need to send in a claim form and copy of the passport of the insured. Without that even the bills from the doctor’s office will not be processed, and they can be returned to you.

“Filing claims does not mean Paying Upfront”
People often misunderstand that filing claims means paying first and then getting paid for it. This is not true. Once you have taken the services, it is just a billing process where the provider will either bill the insurance company directly or send the bill to you. Very rarely, the providers might ask you to pay upfront and get reimbursed for smaller bills like doctor’s consultation etc. Then if you file claim, you would be reimbursed for your valid claims.

Filing Claimant statement is however a mandatory process for all Travel Medical insurance. So if you have taken any medical services, please send the required documents to the insurance company, to speed up the process. To understand why it is mandatory to file for claim, read this article:
Why Do I Have to File Claim for Travel Medical Insurance

Visit VisitorsCoverage.com knowledge center for more informative article on Visitor and Travel Medical insurance

People who purchase visitors medical plan often expect these short-term plans to work exactly the same way as their domestic plans provided by their employers. However ,since visitors plans are short-term plans, they work differently. Two issues that are frustrating for a lot of customers are:

1. Restrictions on Coverage

o No preventative or wellness coverage
o No pre-existing condition coverage
o No Dental or Vision Coverage

2. Filing a claim (Have to file a claim even if there is direct billing)

While we sincerely empathize with the customer’s frustrations, we can also logically understand the reason for these coverage restrictions, as well as the more complicated claim process.

Restriction of Coverage

Preventative Care: Most visitors’ insurance plans do not have coverage for preventative care and pre-existing condition coverage. Preventative care like general physical checkups and shots like flu-shots are not medically necessary. People take these steps as precautionary measures. Since these visitors’ plans are only temporary, it does not make sense for these plans to cover preventative or wellness care.

Pre-Existing Condition Coverage: Pre-existing conditions are any kind of medical condition that the person has, is on medication for, or aware of, before the policy becomes effective. Most of the times it deals with long-term medical conditions that require regular management, e.g., high blood pressure, diabetes, heart problem, etc. Most Visitors Insurance plans have very little or no coverage for pre-existing conditions. This is frustrating for people. However, what a lot of people do not realize is that unless you are covered in an employer-based group insurance plan, it is extremely difficult to get a individual plan with pre-existing condition coverage, even if you are a US citizen or resident living in the USA. The insurance companies view pre-existing condition coverage as high risk for themselves. If they do not have coverage for US citizens or residents who have long-term coverage, it is only understandable that they would not cover these for short-term visitors.

Dental & Vision Coverage: Most people who live in the US would already know that in the US, dental and vision insurances are always separate from health insurances. Even as citizens and residents, you would need to purchase separate plans for dental and vision coverage. Visitor’s Medical plans are essentially medical insurances. So they have very little or no dental or vision coverage.

Filing a Claim

When you use a domestic insurance, most of the times the doctor or provider directly bills the insurance company, and you do not have to deal with the claims. However, for visitors insurance, you have to file a claim, whether the provider directly bills the insurance company or asks you to pay upfront.

This is because when you have domestic insurance, the providers as well as the insurance company has all your information, including your social security number. But when a visitor uses a visitor’s insurance plan, the claim form along with the passport information allows the insurance company to ascertain the visitor’s identity, as well as the services they have taken. Thus the insurance company can make sure that payments are being made to the right person or the right provider. This is the reason why filing a claim is a mandatory step to get your claim processed, even if the providers directly bill the insurance company.

Understand the policy, read the brochure

Before purchasing any plan, it is advisable to read the plan brochure and understand the coverage provided by the plan. This can help clarify what is covered by the policy and how much is covered. This can help reduce and avoid the misunderstandings and frustrations when using the policy.

We all are worried about the recent direction the U.S. economy has taken. Now not only do you have to worry about your job security but also the cost of your health insurance. Or worse, if you would even have health coverage at all if you were to be laid off. Your options if you are laid off:

1. Continue Group Coverage through COBRA

If you have employer provided health coverage, upon unfortunate termination you many have the option of continuing coverage through COBRA with an additional cost. COBRA is a law which extends the company sponsored group insurance if for any reason your job was to be terminated. Though you can still have the same coverage, you usually have to pay the whole premium out of your pocket and it’s usually higher then what the company has to pay for it. For this option you have to coordinate with your company insurance coordinator. This would be a good option if yourself or a family member is in the middle of a treatment for an existing condition. If not, check out Option 2 and 3 for cheaper and better alternatives.

2. Non US Citizens/Visa workers can buy temporary Health Coverage

In this grim outlook of the economy and the daily news about layoffs, non U.S. citizens can save hundreds of dollars by switching to a non-resident health plan where premiums can be as low as $36 per month. These plans are great if you need health coverage right away and don’t have time to go through the longer approval process for domestic individual health insurance like Kaiser, Blue Shield, or Anthem.

There’s no approval, no tests, no waiting period, no social security number requirement, or paper work necessary for immigrant plans. Just apply online and get coverage from tomorrow. To qualify for these plans you have to have a non-immigrant visa. All you need is your passport number, Date of Birth, and Name to apply.

Get Quotes and compare several insurance plans here:
http://www.visitorscoverage.com/immigrant/compare/

3. Assess your current Health Coverage

If you are a resident of California, you may get a low cost quality health insurance for as low as $45 per month. This is a good option for you if you are a resident of the U.S. and/or if you’re a looking for a somewhat longer term insurance.

See how much it can cost:
- Get Online Quotes

You may also discuss your options to a qualified health insurance expert by calling -
Toll Free: 866.384.9104 x112 or Email at Quote@VisitorsCoverage.com

Here is a great source for you to understand the basics of Visitor and Travel Medical Insurance.

This Video presentation can be great tool to learn about visitor insurance and help you make the right decision.

http://www.visitorscoverage.com/videohelp.php