Any tips on medical strategies?

[gwb76109]

My wife and I are with an HMO in Florida and will be out in the RV across the country for a few months. Any tips on securing medical care if something occurs while out of one's HMO coverage area?

[Daveh]

The advice depends on the exact wording of your policy. Does your HMO allow for out of network expenses? Typically you would be limited to emergency expenses and the definitition of emergency will depend on your policy. We have discussed insurance for those under 65 a few times in this boards history. You may be able to find those in a search. We have found that some states are better than others but you also need to look at the specific wording of each policy. Full Timers generally try to avoid HMS's and look for policies with nationwide network coverage.There are health insurance brokers we can put you in touch with that deal specifically with full timer health insurance needs. In your case it sounds you are looking at a relatively short time period and you will still own a residence in Fl. Is that correct? Do you currently pay for your own insurance or is it employer provided?

[Kirk W]

I would suggest that you contact your insurance agent or a representative of your insurance company and discuss your plans. Most HMO plans only allow for limited medial services when outside of their network but some do have networks in more than one state. Most of them do have a provision for at least some emergency care but little if any routine care. If you are one who rarely needs medical attention you may be able to be covered on the basis of emergency care but such things are set by your insurance policy and vary widely from one plan to the next.

 

For most care the walk-in doctor services do a good job of care while traveling for the few things which are likely to arise for a healthy traveler. In addition, if you need more coverage there are travel health insurance policies available that might be an answer.

[gwb76109]

We have our house in FL and pay for our insurance through the Medicare deduction,

[Kirk W]

We have our house in FL and pay for our insurance through the Medicare deduction,

Do you have the standard Medicare or have you chosen on of the Medicare Advantage plans? If you use the standard Medicare you will have no problems finding medical care where ever you go in the USA. With the Advantage plans there are restrictions and what they are depends upon which plan you have chosen.

[Solo18]

As Kirk points out, you may have limitations with a Medicare Advantage plan, so you may want to switch as soon as you can to the regular Medicare (A and and a supplemental Part C policy. I have this arrangement and have been to several urgent care centers all over the country and had surgery in California on my wrist.

 

One thing you might want to do also is to keep a folder of recent medical tests and carry that along with you so whoever treats you outside of your home areas does not have to repeat tests. You also should keep a sheet with names of doctors who have treated you and family members you want contacted in case of an emergency. Ditto for names and doses of medications, and a brief medical history.

[Kirk W]

Another point to consider is that most of us who have conditions that require a maintenance medication plan our travel so that we are able to return to the same primary care physician at least annually for checkups and prescription renewals. Since few doctors will accept the diagnosis of another doctor in a different part of the country without running all of their own tests to confirm and even then my not agree completely on the proper treatment or medication, it is much better to plan so that you are able to keep a relationship with the same doctor over a period of years. We found that once we explained to our doctor that we were retiring and traveling full-time, he was quite interested in this an worked with us quite well for many years. While we did carry a copy of our medical records with us, I can't recall ever having a doctor on the road show any interest in seeing them.

 

How about leaving a few comments to let us know if what we have shared is helpful and if not, what sort of issue would you like addressed?

[bilmorvn]

Getting an appointment on short notice can be a problem. Hate ERs, but sometimes they are your only answer. We have gone online to www.zocdoc.com. They list doctors for whatever you may need and you make appointments on their site. Easy to check out the doctor online, too.

[Daveh]

Since you said HMO I assumed you were under 65. OOPS my bad. I agree with above. Switch out of you current Advantage plan to something that will work better traveling when you become elgible to change . In the meanwhile confirm what coverage you actually have and look into some supplemental travelers insurance if necessary.