International travel insurance with pre-existing condition

July 19, 2017 2:28 PM

Husband and I are planning a short trip to Europe later this year. We've always gotten travel insurance for international travel, but now it's more complicated and more important because husband had a heart attack last year. He's doing great now, but I think that puts him into pre-existing-land when it comes to travel health insurance. We're both in the US, covered under Blue Cross Blue Shield. Our plan definitely does not include health care beyond the US, so we'll need something else.

I've come across this GeoBlue Voyager Choice plan that seems to be good and includes pre-existing conditions, and the price is reasonable. Is this a legit plan and/or a good choice?

I'm an American Express customer, but it's not super clear to me if their insurance covers all my bases, and the quotes I've seen are higher than the GeoBlue. (If I'm missing something, please fill me in!)

Are there others that you've used under similar circumstances that you were happy with?

PS - If anyone wants to share a super positive story about traveling internationally after a heart attack, I would love to hear it to ease my anxiety. No negative stories please, like "my stents leaped from my chest in the middle of the Louvre." (OK, I know that's not a thing. My anxiety isn't that bad.)

posted by dayintoday to Health & Fitness (3 answers total)

Best answer: I've used AXA to get travel insurance with pre-existing condition coverage (for a different pre-existing medical condition). I think the pre-existing rider added about $60 to the cost, which seemed reasonable enough. Luckily we didn't have to use it, so I have no commentary on the quality of service/coverage. I believe it covered emergency and stabilizing care and appropriate transport back to the US for any additional treatment needed.

I have a friend who's had several heart attacks and travels internationally quite a bit (seemingly without any worry), so, not firsthand knowledge, but real people do it!
posted by snaw at 2:37 PM on July 19, 2017

I'm looking at a few policies at Squaremouth.com. Many cover pre-existing conditions that are beyond a "look-back" period. One example: if no "medical advice, diagnosis, care or treatment was recommended or received within the 60 day period ending on the Effective Date" you're covered.
posted by namret at 4:17 PM on July 19, 2017 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Heart attack in mid May 2016. Two stents, 1 balloon, 2 days on a pump draining my lungs/chest for a total of 5 nights in the cardiac ICU. By mid Aug I was walking 60-90 minutes with two 2 minute rests. By mid Sept I needed rests only if I was doing 'over and backs' on an elevated pedestrian bridge. I was fit to travel but it wasn't a preferred season.

I don't usually do urban trips, but doing one in a country with quality health care seemed like a good idea. In March I did 16 nights split between Sydney and Melbourne. Zero arrhythmia, even when doing the stairs and hills at Cockatoo island in Sydney harbour. I followed my usual pre-heart attack pattern of alternating more active days with less active ones. Other than reaching my usual 'that's enough for today' fatigue level with less walking, it was, as the Aussies say, 'No worries, mate'.

Mid April I started a 4 week trip, 3 in Portugal and 1 in Paris. Portugal has hills. Many hills. Steep ones. I trained for them, just as I would have done before my heart attack. No problems with the hills, though I went slower with more rests on the steeper ones. The rests were to avoid breaking a sweat, to take photos, and to enjoy the view. I realized they also gave me pause to notice my heart rate, which was always in my workout range.

My health insurance covers travel. If It didn't, I'd use Squaremouth because "Every policy comes with our Zero Complaint Guarantee. If you have a complaint about a claim that can’t be resolved, we will remove that provider from our website." That said, I've read in several places - unrelated to Squaremouth - that 90%+ of travel insurance claims are justifiably dismissed because such a loss wasn't covered, or the required documentation wasn't provided, or a time limit expired.

Using my surfing slang from the '60s and '70s, I advise: Go for it!
posted by Homer42 at 9:19 PM on July 19, 2017