Why Routine Care And Check-Ups Are Not Covered By Travel Health Insurance

Why Routine Care And Check-Ups Are Not Covered By Travel Health Insurance

Many travelers are surprised to discover that preventative care and routine checkups – even regular prescriptions, flu shots – are not covered by their travel health insurance. Routine medical care includes scheduled physical examinations, vaccinations, and regular medical care like blood pressure checks.

There are several reasons that travel health insurance plans do not cover routine care, but the primary reason is cost. Essentially, if every travel health insurance plan was required to pay for emergency medical treatment as well as routine care and checkups, the cost for travel health insurance plans would have to be much higher because travelers would visit the doctor for minor health issues like flu shots and other things that they could get back home instead.

Travel Health Insurance Is for Sudden Illnesses and Emergency Medical Care

Some travelers believe that they can buy travel health insurance and go to the doctor for any existing minor health issue while they are visiting the U.S. For example, a visitor with an existing heart condition who is on medication may make the mistake of believing that as long as they have an travel medical insurance plan, they have a free ticket to go to a doctor for a blood pressure check while they are visiting.

This is not true.

If you are facing a genuine medical emergency, a sudden illness, or injury which manifests after the plan effective date, your medical treatment will be covered by a travel health insurance plan.

Travel Accidents, Injuries, and Sudden Illness are Covered

Emergency medical care is covered by these medical insurance policies which includes unexpected situations like the following:

>> Treatment of injuries resulting from a car accident
>> Severe dehydration resulting from the flu
>> Surgery to repair a broken hip resulting from a slip and fall accident
>> Treatment for continuous vomiting due to food poisoning
>> Emergency treatment for a snake bite

Preventative care, routine medical checkups, and treatment for existing medical issues are not covered.

Don’t Take Advantage – It Won’t Work

Some travelers believe that they can buy travel health insurance and bring their health issues to USA They try to take advantage of better treatment, better medications, and better care. In some cases, working immigrants bring their parents and other family members to the USA and expect to get free quality medical care.

The U.S. healthcare system is not designed to care for foreign visitors and medical care is not free in the U.S. Visitors cannot come to the U.S. and get free medical care either.

Tourists to the U.S. have two options to get medical care in the U.S.:

>> Pay for their treatment out of pocket, or
>> Purchase adequate travel health insurance which will cover them for medical problems (except pre-existing conditions) while in the US and show that proof of insurance.

Travel medical insurance is only for emergency medical or urgent treatment of sudden and unexpected illness or injury while you are traveling; not for all other medical treatment.