Medical insurance and repatriation from Canada for US sailors

[Mark Maulden]

Ok..So the best way to present this IMHO is a scenario. We are US citizens at age 65. So, we are now on Medicare. We cruise BC waters extensively. One of us has an accident or condition that requires immediate medical attention while in Canada. I think the Canadian medical system will "save your life". But, after that, they say they can do no more. So, now you need repatriation back to US and you may not be able to do it. A lot sailors I talk to tough it out and with the help of crew get back to the US with the injured and that cannot be fun or medically advisable..My admiral cannot bring the boat and myself back by herself. So, I am looking for some kind of "generic trip insurance" for cruising in BC waters that will take care of medical issues and repatriation back to the US without declaring specific departure/return dates etc. My Boat insurance is not much help. And this insurance needs to cover issues that may occur off the boat. We do some travel internationally with cycle tours and others and always purchase trip insurance that covers all this stuff. Any ideas for cruising BC waters with coverage?

 

[BrianRobin]

It works the same when we travel to the US, have an accident, you're on your own, unless you have travel insurance.

 

[HMT2]

I have only used it on mission trips to third world countries, but there is some “come get you” insurance out there that will air ambulance you back to the states. Ours has always been through a Church agency so I can’t point you in a particular direction. This, of course, would only be oriented to the person(s) not the boat.

 

[All U Get]

Dan's Diver insurance is available for that and I believe for Canada, too.

 

[dlochner]

Some medicare supplements treat out of country medical expenses as out of network expenses. You pay first, then they reimburse.

 

[jssailem]

out of country medical expenses as out of network expenses. You pay first, then they reimburse.

I’ve heard that to be Partial Reimbursement.

 

[Jackdaw]

“My admiral cannot bring the boat and myself back by herself. So, I am looking for some kind of "generic trip insurance" for cruising in BC waters that will take care of medical issues and repatriation back to the US without declaring specific departure/return dates etc.”

Does any insurance do that? That seems very hard to underwrite, unless they just allow a capped amount that you can use to arrange to get the boat back.

 

[capta]

There are air ambulance services that have insurance for just that scenario. I doubt its cheap, but it is out there.
I'd be a lot more interested in upgrading the "Admiral" to a working partner, who, perhaps with the help of a professional delivery captain could get the boat back south of the 49th.
After all, it's not like you're 1200 miles of open ocean away from the US. Could it possibly take more than 48 hours to move your boat (as a delivery, not cruising) back to a US marina from anywhere you normally cruise in BC?

 

[jssailem]

Getting home with a medical emergency from most of the BC waters, should be relatively easy as there are float planes servicing the settlements on many of the bays.

If you get into medical attention the boat is likely in a bay or harbor that will provide cover until it can be recovered.

I wonder about the possibility of friends helping out with a recovery in that situation. Perhaps it needs a paid delivery captain. Do not know. I would trust my boat to a couple of sailing friends.

But then its value and complexity are not great. I guess that if you are talking about a 60ft 3/4 of a million yacht then the delivery captain cost is negligible.

Perhaps making friends with fellow boaters and even sailing with a few might build a level of confidence with their abilities to help out. Not sure about the liabilities, do Good Samaritan rules apply?

 

[Mark Maulden]

I’m not to concerned about getting the boat back at the time unless it is the only transportation option. The concern is actually taking care of the medical issue in CA until stable enough for some kind of transport. Medicare give 50K for out of area but its a lifetime limit and could be eaten up rather quickly. Dan looks like he can get you out, but does not cover actual medical expenses..so I’m just looking for out of area med insurance that includes a trip home. The air ambulance services are reasonable but do not go outside the US. (At least the ones I’ve found)

 

[capta]

The air ambulance services are reasonable but do not go outside the US. (At least the ones I’ve found)

I've seen them advertized in the Caribbean for trips to the US.

 

[justsomeguy]

I've seen them advertized in the Caribbean for trips to the US.

Mexico too.

 

[DayDreamer41]

You can buy insurance to cover your medical costs while in Canada its not cheap, I just did a sample for 200K per person over the age of 65 for a 140 day visit worked out to be either $1600 or $1800 (CA) per person. The more accurate you can predict your days there the cheaper it gets, if cheaper should even be used in this case.
Perhaps if you talked to an insurance broker they could point you in the right direction.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Mark, a few years before we moved to Canada in 2016, we were doing our usual winter holiday visit from our home in California. I had a TIA and four hours in the emergency room cost us $5,000. Medicare covered squat!!! For all subsequent visits, my wife bought me travel insurance. IIRC, it cost $48 for two weeks.
Of course, things have been fine since, and now that I have the PR, I also have health insurance here, a good doctor, and another great dermatologist (who knew sun was bad for you?!?).
Now that I am a permanent resident of Canada, I have the same issues when traveling to the San Juans. I looked into Canadian coverage for the same thing, and the premiums were outrageous, in the hundreds of dollars, and wouldn't cover short trips; I'd be paying for time I wasn't even out of the country!
They getcha comin' and goin'.
Because I singlehand all the time (because my wife who loves the boat is the only caregiver her 97 year old father has) I understand your issue.
I haven't gone any further in researching the possible solutions, so will be following this with great interest.
Either that or youze guys hafta keep visiting me!

 

[jssailem]

youze guys hafta keep visiting me

I like that premise. And time will tell if it is possible. Maybe if we do it enough we might wear out our welcome. Always a possibility.
I too am following and researching this idea. In the future is a trip like @Michael Davis 's 2018 Gypsy Tour for my boat and any crew I can get interested. Until then I am looking forward to the Winter 2019 Vancouver Boat Show cruise with extended adventures into the Gulf Islands during the return.
Hopefully I can accomplish all of this while I still have my health. That way I can avoid the finale Viking Send Off.

 

[Parsons]

Many US citizens think that what they know about healthcare is normal for the rest of the world. The US has the most expensive (by far) healthcare in the world, and only marginally better quality and results than other developed countries. I'll avoid the political comments to go into the reasons, but obviously there is a great deal of money to be made when the margins are this high. The end result is that you may want to find out what it actually costs for medical care services where you are travelling, and then decide if you need to insure that risk. Just like any other types of insurance, it may be better to have a stack of cash and a high deductible, than to get a premium insurance coverage for thousands of dollars.

Why not call up a doctor's office or hospital in an area you intend to travel and ask them some basic pricing questions, such as how much for: a simple office visit, prescription antibiotic for 10 days, emergency room visit, or day in semi-private hospital room. I'd be curious the results compared to the same pricing in the US. As a side note, it's very difficult to get these values in the US (another reason for high prices!), because every insurance company has negotiated rates and no one pays retail.

 

[BrianRobin]

I’m not to concerned about getting the boat back at the time unless it is the only transportation option. The concern is actually taking care of the medical issue in CA until stable enough for some kind of transport. FYI, CA is not the short for Canada, it's CDN

 

[Michael Davis]

I love our medical plan ( maybe I don't know any better ) and my pension plan pays for $1,000,000.00 out of country. Should be enough to get me back to B.C.

 

[dlochner]

It might be worthwhile to look at alternatives to plain vanilla Medicare. Since I'm covered by my former employer, I'm not up to date on all the alternatives even though I get deluged with mail during the open enrollment period.

@Parsons comment about costs is accurate. The cost of prescription drugs is much cheaper in Canada. So cheap that there are bus tours of seniors who cross the border to buy prescription drugs. The average cost of healthcare here is about twice as much as the next most expensive country in the developed world.

@Stu Jackson only $5000 for 4 hours in the ER? That's a bargain. My trip to the dentist this AM for a quick cleaning and a 2 minute consult w/the dentist was $150 out of pocket, that's about $300/hour for a dental technician. And those skin doctors see Liquid Nitrogen as a profit center. Hundreds of dollars for a few squirts of it. By the way, my skin doc (a plastic surgeon) says to never let a dermatologist get near you with a scalpel in his hand. He reminds me of this every time I see him and he sees my scars.

 

[Stu Jackson]

By the way, my skin doc (a plastic surgeon) says to never let a dermatologist get near you with a scalpel in his hand. He reminds me of this every time I see him and he sees my scars.

Dave, you're right. Mine is too, I only used dermatologist for simplicity, he's a surgeon and does very nice no-scar work. Too bad I know all too well...