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Trying to find out if there is any medical insurance available for tourists visiting US for few weeks. They would be living in northern NJ. I found some insurance providers like Patriot US or Atlas. Their PPO provider is First Health network.
If anybody with experience in this could please share their knowledge, would appreciate it a lot. Thanks.
I would of thought you would buy some kind of travel type insurance where you are not when you get here. Otherwise I would just roll the dice and most likely you would not be going to the DR or hospital if you were only here for 2 weeks, just don't do any high risk stuff like binge drinking, crowded nightclubs or bars, swimming late at night. Just don't take any chances and you will be fine.
I don't have any recommendations, but travel insurance is a good idea, at least to evacuate you back to your home country in case something serious happens. You don't want to take any chances being uninsured in the U.S.
Thanks all. Among the visitors are parents who are older than 70 yrs. I guess getting admitted to the ER is not an issue but to be admitted to the hospital (for post emergency care) from the ER, some sort of insurance would be needed, right?
I think it would be better to get some insurance from a US based company than from the overseas home country since those may not be accepted by NJ hospitals (say Hackensack or Valley or Englewood hospital)
Id personally just roll the dice. You will get medical attention at some of the worlds best ER whether you have insurance or not. Im sure that type of insurance is riped with fraud and you will pay out the nose for it.
I live here and I cannot afford medical insurance. I simply put a percentage of my earnings into a savings account for only health purposes. Health insurance in the US is nothing but a huge scam. When you actually need it, these companies dont want to pay out much anyway, still forcing you to pay a lot out of pocket. Here in the US, whether you are a citizen or have insurance or not, by law they still must treat you for Medical Emergencies.
I live here and I cannot afford medical insurance. I simply put a percentage of my earnings into a savings account for only health purposes. Health insurance in the US is nothing but a huge scam. When you actually need it, these companies dont want to pay out much anyway, still forcing you to pay a lot out of pocket. Here in the US, whether you are a citizen or have insurance or not, by law they still must treat you for Medical Emergencies.
That's not really true for everyone. I stayed at a public sector job all my life party because we had good employer-provided health insurance. Rarely was something not covered.
However, not everyone has access to that type of health insurance, and it's a huge problem in the USA.
I would buy some from one of the companies you mentioned. It may not be perfect, but it will be better than nothing if something were to happen. I've heard of relatives using the Patriot one but I don't have direct experience.
depends on how long, medical insurance ain't cheap. Paying couple of grand of insurance for a family of 4, and pretty much got nothing in return is not fun. Maybe consider just buy the real serious injury insurance.
Trying to find out if there is any medical insurance available for tourists visiting US for few weeks. They would be living in northern NJ. I found some insurance providers like Patriot US or Atlas. Their PPO provider is First Health network.
If anybody with experience in this could please share their knowledge, would appreciate it a lot. Thanks.
Check out World Nomads for travel insurance (their insurance can include coverage for example, delayed flights, medical emergencies, repatriation back to the home country, missing baggage etc.). They are based in Sydney, Australia but will cover people from most countries who are travelling overseas. I believe they’re endorsed by ‘Lonely Planet’ and ‘Eurail’.
One English expat friend of mine was leaving Canada for good (where she and her husband had lived for many years) and relocating back to England by having a short vacation in New York City and then taking the Queen Mary 2 liner for the transatlantic crossing. She was having a problem with travel insurance because there was no point in being repatriated back to Canada when she was leaving the country permanently. She gave World Nomads a call and they arranged travel insurance for her at a very good rate.
Obviously if your tourist friends (family?) are currently taking medication, have medical procedures planned in future or have had previous health issues then it needs to be declared to the travel insurance company before buying the insurance, otherwise it would be void. I would be under the impression that US travel insurers cover US residents only, not tourists from other countries? Always best to read the small print! Where are they from anyway - India?
Btw; I would never risk taking a vacation in the USA (or anywhere) without travel insurance; another friend’s dad went to visit her when she was living in Singapore. He was in his 70s. After the 12 hour flight from London he stood up and collapsed moments later as he was exiting the aircraft and taken straight to Singapore General Hospital; it was Deep Vein Thrombosis. He was lucky to survive....many don’t.
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