Health insurance for visiting parents

[victorian]

Hi Guys -

I tried searching for reviews for insurance providers for visitors to the US but am having issues finding reliable information. My parents are going to be visiting me in a few months and I was wondering if you guys have had a good experience with any health insurance companies for visitors and can make any recommendations.

Any help will be much appreciated.

[victorian]

Hi Guys, Apologies for the extremely OT post, but I did not get any answers on a thread I created for this, probably because of the low visibility.

I tried searching for reviews for insurance providers for visitors to the US but am having issues finding reliable information. My parents are going to be visiting me in a few months and I was wondering if you guys have had a good experience with any health insurance companies for visitors and can make any recommendations.

Any help will be much appreciated.

I will remove this post if/when I get an answer.

[tikkahyd]

Victorian,
I generally use Patriot Medical Insurance for my visiting parents from www.imglobal.com
http://www.imglobal.com/img-insurance/travel-medical-insurance/patriot-travel-medical-insurance.aspx

They were very good when my Mom needed an emergency surgery here.

[bleakHope]

Victorian,
My parents had icici-lombard (no claims though). Most of the companies do not cover pre-existing conditions. So please make sure to go through the fine print.

[soggadu]

Hi Guys, Apologies for the extremely OT post, but I did not get any answers on a thread I created for this, probably because of the low visibility.

I tried searching for reviews for insurance providers for visitors to the US but am having issues finding reliable information. My parents are going to be visiting me in a few months and I was wondering if you guys have had a good experience with any health insurance companies for visitors and can make any recommendations.

Any help will be much appreciated.

I will remove this post if/when I get an answer.

Vic... i took atlas insurance from hccmis.com... this is the only insurance i found which covers good... it is little pricey though , i paid 750 something for 5 months for my 61 yr old mom... please PM me if you need more info...

[gcoracle]

I would say do not buy any insurance if they have any pre-existing condition. My parents visited us every year and we always purchased insurance but in 2010 my mom had a stroke and she was in ICU for a week and was discharged after 20 days. Hospital bills came to about $160,000. Insurance denied the claim citing that she had blood pressure (a pre existing condition). When in Hospital our friends suggested not to sign any document that says you will take the responsibility. All the documents were signed by my dad. They got the bills sent to India. Finally hospital had to write it off. In my research over time, there is not even one insurance company that would offer you an insurance with any pre-existing condition.

[goforgreen]

I'm not sure how this insurance discussion is helping EB2 calculations and predictions.

Focus on topic is the strength of this forum, otherwise it will become like the other two sites on immigration where everything under the sun is discussed on immigration threads.

I'm all for friendly discussion now and then that lightens the mood while firmly staying on topic.

No offence to the OP but there are others forums for these questions, we should stay focused on topic here so that people will not have to read through multiple pages to go to useful information. This will also reduce admins workload to monitor and delete posts.

[soggadu]

I'm not sure how this insurance discussion is helping EB2 calculations and predictions.

Focus on topic is the strength of this forum, otherwise it will become like the other two sites on immigration where everything under the sun is discussed on immigration threads.

I'm all for friendly discussion now and then that lightens the mood while firmly staying on topic.

No offence to the OP but there are others forums for these questions, we should stay focused on topic here so that people will not have to read through multiple pages to go to useful information. This will also reduce admins workload to monitor and delete posts.

arey uncle...u wont go to other threads and help people and you criticize when they post here...OP ne kaha tha he posted in other threads with no luck... green bhai cool rehne ka...

hey waise kahan ja rahe ho green ke liye ;) ...take it easy bro....

[qesehmk]

victorian,

I used to purchase icici but then I realized local is better because of pre-approval etc. Last time I purchased TATA-AIG.

But I think gcoracle below has given you a very valuable advice. I know at least 4-5 such cases first hand.


Hi Guys, Apologies for the extremely OT post, but I did not get any answers on a thread I created for this, probably because of the low visibility.

I tried searching for reviews for insurance providers for visitors to the US but am having issues finding reliable information. My parents are going to be visiting me in a few months and I was wondering if you guys have had a good experience with any health insurance companies for visitors and can make any recommendations.

Any help will be much appreciated.

I will remove this post if/when I get an answer.


I would say do not buy any insurance if they have any pre-existing condition. My parents visited us every year and we always purchased insurance but in 2010 my mom had a stroke and she was in ICU for a week and was discharged after 20 days. Hospital bills came to about $160,000. Insurance denied the claim citing that she had blood pressure (a pre existing condition). When in Hospital our friends suggested not to sign any document that says you will take the responsibility. All the documents were signed by my dad. They got the bills sent to India. Finally hospital had to write it off. In my research over time, there is not even one insurance company that would offer you an insurance with any pre-existing condition.
Thanks gcoracle.

[victorian]

First, Thanks for all the responses. I really appreciate it. Apologies for posting this in the live forum, and thanks Q for moving this back here.


I would say do not buy any insurance if they have any pre-existing condition. My parents visited us every year and we always purchased insurance but in 2010 my mom had a stroke and she was in ICU for a week and was discharged after 20 days. Hospital bills came to about $160,000. Insurance denied the claim citing that she had blood pressure (a pre existing condition). When in Hospital our friends suggested not to sign any document that says you will take the responsibility. All the documents were signed by my dad. They got the bills sent to India. Finally hospital had to write it off. In my research over time, there is not even one insurance company that would offer you an insurance with any pre-existing condition.

Thanks, gcoracle. Both my parents have blood pressure issues. How do they determine if it is a pre-existing condition? Do we have to get a certificate from the doctor back home that they don't have any health issues?

[gcoracle]

You can try but every insurance company will have a fine print that says pre-existing condition is not covered. I even fought with the State medical department about this insurance company but even they couldn't help as the condition was there in the fine print. This year we didn't buy any insurance for my in-laws. See, God forbid if there were to be any emergency then the Hospitals can not deny you treatment just because you do not have the insurance. For Non-emergency issues I took them to a local Indian doctor (they are more understanding and compassionate) who charged $40 and for any medication, he gave them the doctors samples. From my experience, I think medical insurance companies in this country are money leeches. Their bonuses are dependent on how many claims they deny.

[victorian]

You can try but every insurance company will have a fine print that says pre-existing condition is not covered. I even fought with the State medical department about this insurance company but even they couldn't help as the condition was there in the fine print. This year we didn't buy any insurance for my in-laws. See, God forbid if there were to be any emergency then the Hospitals can not deny you treatment just because you do not have the insurance. For Non-emergency issues I took them to a local Indian doctor (they are more understanding and compassionate) who charged $40 and for any medication, he gave them the doctors samples. From my experience, I think medical insurance companies in this country are money leeches. Their bonuses are dependent on how many claims they deny.

Thanks. I completely agree that a for-profit model does not work for healthcare and a single payer solution has been proven in every other developed country, but that is a thought for another time.

Actually, my question was how do they determine that this was a pre-existing condition? Is this just based on their medical opinion and there is no way for you to contest it?
Also, are you in NJ? If yes, would you mind sending me a PM about the Indian doctor?

[gcoracle]

Not just medical opinion they can get the medical records from the hospital you are admitted to. When my mom had stroke we told the doctors that she has high blood pressure and they wrote that in her medical record. I live in CT.

[gchopeful123]

victorian,

You can try this one (http://www.kvrao.org/). It covers pre-existing conditions. Personally I havent used it but quite a few of my friends recommend it.

The one I has bought for my parents (similar to soggadu) is Atlas HCCMIS. They had a clause for covering acute onset of pre-existing condition.

Also, regardless of what happens, as people have mentioned in this forum before, DO NOT sign any doc on behalf of your parents. It's a standard process with hospitals here to write-off charges for patients who cannot pay.

Hope this helps.

[victorian]

Thank you!


victorian,

You can try this one (http://www.kvrao.org/). It covers pre-existing conditions. Personally I havent used it but quite a few of my friends recommend it.

The one I has bought for my parents (similar to soggadu) is Atlas HCCMIS. They had a clause for covering acute onset of pre-existing condition.

Also, regardless of what happens, as people have mentioned in this forum before, DO NOT sign any doc on behalf of your parents. It's a standard process with hospitals here to write-off charges for patients who cannot pay.

Hope this helps.

[GCKnowHow]

I know I'm replying very late. May be it might be useful for others later.

I got ICICI LOMBARD insurance for my parents first time and had to visit doctor for a minor flu and got receipts for all expenses. Then while claiming it after their return to india, it was rejected since they didn't present the medical prescription. Since it was less than $100 for the total expenses, I left it there.

In my opinion insurance is useless for visitor.
Before deciding on insurance consider this, Check the number of doctor visits in last one year and see what ailnment the visits were for. If its just normal and non routine then just fill your medical bag with some antibiotics (these are very expensive here) , allergy tablets and eye drops. This should cover most of the normal ailments. My family doctor in India suggested to take CiproFlaxin, Avil, Crocin, Some cough syrup and couple of eye drops.

If there is a routine issue (pre-existing) that is not covered in insurance then visit the doctor and fill your medical bag with medicines for 6 months.

As posted above you can visit a general practitioner and say you don't have insurance and they would attend to you for $40 to $50. If possible try to go to a doctor with education in India, so you can check if you could use the medicines you got from India.

One important thing is to cover the case of accidents which the most insurances cover. Just make your auto insurance as primary insurer for health and this will cover any one traveling in your car.

You would be pretty much covered by this.

I did above during the second visit of my parents, had to visit doctor for a bad cold and throat infection. Paid $50 for doctor visit and was asked to use Ciproflaxin (they bought from India). Other than that normal cold is treated with Nyquil or tylenol.

Hope this helps
**** Not an insurance or medical expert , follow at your own risk ****

[henrylarry6]

I agree with you gcoracle, no company provide insurance if you have any pre-existing situation. Ultimately they are not here to pay for you in any situation.

[abcx13]

Any update on this? My parents have always bought Indian travel insurance, but now I am wondering if they should buy travel insurance from a US provider as that would have pre-approval / no upfront instead of filing for reimbursement later.

[qesehmk]

Any update on this? My parents have always bought Indian travel insurance, but now I am wondering if they should buy travel insurance from a US provider as that would have pre-approval / no upfront instead of filing for reimbursement later.

Even if it is costlier, I would certainly buy insurance from an American provider.

[AceMan]

Any update on this? My parents have always bought Indian travel insurance, but now I am wondering if they should buy travel insurance from a US provider as that would have pre-approval / no upfront instead of filing for reimbursement later.

My primary care physician in NJ has an insurance plan which cost about $150, whereby if parents need a consultation, it costs 50$ out of pocket for every visit valid for about 6 months.

[abcx13]

Even if it is costlier, I would certainly buy insurance from an American provider.
Which do you go for? Apparently lots of them look good on paper but don't pay out!

[monsieur]

Any update on this? My parents have always bought Indian travel insurance, but now I am wondering if they should buy travel insurance from a US provider as that would have pre-approval / no upfront instead of filing for reimbursement later.

For recent visit I purchased "Safe Travel USA Comprehensive (https://www.trawickinternational.com/products/safe-travels-usa)" Ended up using it and paid out of pocket what was written in policy. Pre-existing issue is covered but covers only accidental flare-up and not regular/pro-active treatment.

I generally shop with https://g1g.com or https://insubuy.com; they both are Orbitz/Expedia of Insurance world. Go with policy which make more sense.

PS: Sometimes for same policy they show different rate so I pick which ever is cheaper for same policy.

[qesehmk]

Which do you go for? Apparently lots of them look good on paper but don't pay out!
I haven't checked in a while but you can't go wrong with United Aetna or Blue Cross Blue Shield.

I would avoid Cigna and Kaiser.