the explorers journal the climate change issue - The Explorers Club

E X P E D I T I O N M E D I C I N E
your heatlh and safety in the field
Rest Insured
by Michael J. Manyak, M.D., FACS
There is nothing more exhilarating
than the moment you
realize that you really ARE
seek medical care abroad or
upon reaching home.
So, how do we get medical
• Medicare and most health maintenance
organizations do not provide
coverage for international travel.
going on that expedition, the help if something arises on • Even comprehensive medical
one you have been dreaming
about for years or have been
unexpectedly asked to join.
the road? An important component
of any trip should be
arranging for travel medical
insurance policies do not cover
evacuation.
• Travel insurance has one or more
Your excitement, however, insurance to include evacuation.
components: 1) travel assistance for
soon becomes tempered by
logistics and by sobering
thoughts of health and safety.
It is a well-known adage at
Do not assume that tour
operators or travel companies
offer more than very basic
services. Often these do not
logistics—lost luggage, trip cancellation,
etc., 2) medical coverage for
treatment, subject to policy limits,
and 3) evacuation. Not all may be
The Explorers Club that an exceed minimal temporary included in a policy.
adventure is an expedition that
has gone wrong. Nowhere is
this more apparent than in the
area of travel medical insurance.
Rest assured that the
subtleties of your policy for
your particular situation may
not be apparent until you are
in the midst of a crisis.
Although we often take our
medical care and emergency
transportation to a regional
medical facility, which may be
inadequate for anything other
than basic first aid. Without
proper insurance, costs can
be considerable with evacuation
expenses alone frequently
ranging over $100,000.
• Check the exclusions in any policy
you have. Many adventurous activities
are excluded from policy coverage
and alcohol or drug-related
incidents often are not covered.
• Medical evacuation occurs by the
decision of the insurance company;
it is not triggered by natural disasters
or outbreak of hostilities.
• The insurance company determines
health care for granted in an Here are some k ey the destination for the evacuee,
industrialized urban society,
we lose that confidence on
points to consider:
• Surgical mortality is almost 20 percent
regardless of patient and family
desires. With few exceptions such as
remote travel…and for a
higher in Western Europe than Global Rescue out of Boston, MA, you
good reason. Travel health in the U.S. This rises to nearly 30 percent
do not have a vote.
issues are far more common
in Eastern Europe, to more than • To avoid being transported by
than suspected. As many as
one half of people who travel
to developing areas report
problems. Many of these get
resolved, but some eight percent
of an estimated 50 million
travelers become ill enough to
56
70 percent in Latin America, and
higher still in the rest of the world.
• Private medical insurance coverage
on domestic policies generally
has similar coverage for international
travel. Check your existing
policy before travel.
oxcart (interpreted by the insurance
company as the most readily available
means of transfer) to the outpatient
clinic in the next village (designated
regional medical facility), establish
before departure what would happen
for a serious medical event.
the explorers journal