I know its been asked before

MeCasa

The company that yogagal60510 posted has better prices than some of the others I looked at, they also have coverage packages for dangerous activities and the cost is not prohibitive. As a matter of fact it is an excellent company, here is their list of exclusions


I'm glad you posted this thread ammadas, I'll also check the county health dept for a deal on shots.

machadinha

Ouch yes I can see your concern. Like I said I'd never even heard of it before logging on to IndiaMike nor was I ever recommended it but that's not telling you a whole lot. What I hear is it's mostly recommended to long-term visitors to rural and wet areas, esp. where pigs are raised or rice is grown, as the virus is thought to be harboured by pigs and certain wild birds. I seemed to remember reading somewhere that the disease when caught is incurable but I can't find it back so may have been some other disease; according to the LP site "This mosquito-transmitted viral infection of the brain is a risk only in rural, rice-growing areas, and is thought to be a very low risk for travellers. However, it can be fatal, and may cause permanent brain damage in those who recover. There is an effective vaccine, and you should take measures to avoid mosquito bites" and they don't even list it for India, nor do they in my old guidebook for that country. All of this is not to say you shouldn't look into it & weigh the pros and cons though. It is clear however that there are wild fluctuations in medical advice depending on which country or even what doctor you ask. All of them are better schooled in the field than we are I'd say though.

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machadinha

btw On a similar note it pays to check does your insurance pay as the occasion requires or do they expect you to pay upfront and then get reimbursed later. That's OK for an aspirin maybe but not for more serious incidents.

MeCasa

Can't do much about that, the insurance policy will get you in the door if you'r hurt bad, then you make a lot of promises, sign whatever they tell you to sign, give them a couple grand and then let them fight it out. There's not a lot of options, but the card and policy will get you in the door and that's better than dying or crawling down the street with a couple of broken legs.

What happens when you have National Healthcare like you guys, are you covered in other countries?

Anders

You take out your credit card and hand it to the nurse. Which may be what you have to do even with an insurance.
Sweden will only cover me in EU and a few other countries like Australia.

machadinha

Well, no, there are deals (at least where I live) where the company pays directly to whoever's treating you, which is the preferred option for those of us on a budget and without credit cards, itself a good tip by Anders there if you have one. Technically this should just take a phone call -- practically it's anyone's guess of course.

I'm sure it differs per country, in the Netherlands off the top of my head the standard coverage is for a couple of neighbors I believe, then you can get something like Anders said which covers the EU and some other nearby popular holiday destinations (e.g. North Africa) and perhaps some more distant partners as well, and then there's world coverage with a limit of something like 3 months per year I think. The details may have changed over the past couple of years. With other packages, too, there are often limitations as to how long per year you can be on the go, so it's another thing to look into, or at least here it is. Dental care other than immediately necessary work that arises on your trip is typically excluded, I assume this goes for other forms of "medical tourism" as well.

Sounds like someone in the know should write the ultimate insurance sticky thread if it hasn't been written already. A thing that struck me on similar threads, and threads about visa too, is that with our international audience here people tend to assume that the rules in country X automatically pertain to country Z as well (always speaking country of origin, not travel destination). This is far from the case, and conditions and regulations can vary significantly. So you'd need a thread for each separate country.

Nick-H

My antimalarials, chloroquine (Lariago-ds), as recommended by a local doctor, cost pennies only in Chennai.

My last six months in India I did without any insurance, although I usually do have it. The thing that worried me was how many times I nearly got run over in the first week or two

The big potential cost in a health policy is rescue or repatriation by air, but, unless you are in the wilds and need air rescue to take you urgently to a city, I can't see the need of this sort of cover in India. I'd rather be taken to the nearest speciality hospital than have to suffer a ten-hour flight to London, even if it is aboard a private jet, before I get treated. And, if the worst comes to the worst, I'm really not too fussed about the fate of my body once I have vacated it!

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machadinha

Yes, but maybe your living there makes a difference too. A small personal anecdote that I've brought up before: A friend who works as a tour guide in Tibet among other places got run off the road and into a ravine there in her jeep in a typical oncoming truck driver on a narrow mountain road not wanting to budge and driving on after the accident kind of scenario. She broke her back and it took about a day or two for her to be helicoptered out of there, and she was extremely lucky that she was as they had no immediate contact whatsoever to the outside world. She was whisked off to a reputed (and need I add massively expensive) Hong Kong hospital where she received first surgery which probably saved her life. After that however she was transported back home for further treatment, I never asked her but I assume to be close to her friends and relatives if nothing else. She was hospitalized for several months I believe and the recovery process took at least a year if not much longer. It never stopped her from continuing to work as a guide there I have to add, but the point is apart from you wanting to be home at some point I'd hate to think of the total costs of the whole affair, let alone of being uninsured under the circumstances, or the burden you might pose on eventually someone in your surroundings if you're not and if you're so lucky to receive proper treatment at all.

Nick-H

Hmm, yes... I do plan do have some sort of medical cover when I return, whether locally sourced or bought before I go.

Yogagal's worldnomads link looks very promising. I remember also someone, maybe last year, recommending a company, maybe German, that does health only, ie not the rest of the travel stuff. Might have bookmarked it. I'll dig...

Daal_face

I have American medical insurance through Blue Cross/Blue Shield through which I'd only have to pay a $25 copay in order to get my immunizations. Even then, it only covered the standards (MMR, Tetanus, Hep A, Hep B etc.). JE and other specialized immunizations are usually not covered by US medical insurance because those immunizations are not necessary in the US. The average cost of JE in the US is $150 per dose (I think 2 doses are needed). I received MMR (which supposedly is recommended for those who received their last injection before 1991 or 1994 I think), Tetanus booster and Hep A and B. My doctor told me that polio booster wasn't necessary for me (he's from India so I hope he's right). He didn't have the JE or typhoid vaccines but I opted out anyway. I had to contact many doctors before I could find one that even had all the injections that I needed in their office (family doctors are mostly likely to have them). Many doctors seemed to shy away from giving immunizations and all referred me to the county health department travel center (who gives all travel immunizations but would not bill my insurance directly). My doctor also gave me prescriptions for Cipro (for typhoid treatment) and Lariam (which I'm not sure I want to take). I also went a step further and purchased travel insurance through STA Travel. They have a really comprehensive plan that will cover medical expenses, emergency evacuation and repatriation of remains as well as other benefits with no deductible. I paid about $125 for a month of coverage. I know quite a few people who went to India with not one injection or pill and came out of there fine and I know people who had their injections and were fine. Do what you can afford to do injection wise and travel insurance is HIGHLY recommended.

Number Six

Nick H is right... antimalarials are much much cheaper in India as are practically all medicines. And this does not mean the quality is rubbish either. Drug companies simply adjust the price depending on the wealth of the local population. Much better to stock up in Delhi or whatever...

Sama

Just an FYI: got the doctor's bill today for a tetanus shot, polio, and Hep A -- $185 total before insurance. don't know if health insurance will kick in anything.

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MeCasa

What did you do about the rest of the shots everybody says you need, did yo not get them?

jens

I agree with other posters that some of the "travel clinics" can be VERY expensive.

Check around at in different counties as the other posters suggested, I have done that, and I have also gone through a local University because they usually have travel clinics too.

Also, JE shots might be expensive, but perhaps you can avoid this by not traveling in the affected area.

Cheers

Sama

MeCasa, I went by what the CDC website and the travel medicine website that was posted said. Besides tetanus, polio, Hep A, I also took the oral typhoid vaccine (4 pills every other day). I did not get the Hep B shot. I will be in south India, so no Jap. E. No meningitis, since I will not be in Delhi. I am starting my malaria med tonight, since I leave on Friday.

I know people who go to India with only a hep A and tetanus shot, no malaria meds, and they are fine. Others I know get every shot under the sun and they wind up sicker than dogs, in a hospital with IVs, for whatever reason. Who knows? Karma is karma!

peace!