From Ebola to flu to a broken leg, things happen when you’re abroad and chances are your US health insurance will do you little good (if you have Medicare or Medicaid, for example). After calling your health insurance company to determine your out-of-country coverage, you’ll likely consider buying travel MEDICAL insurance. This is different from travel insurance you might purchase to protect costs of your trip, et cetera.
It’s important to understand WHAT coverage you get from your Travel MEDICAL insurance which will vary much as policies within the US do regarding extent of coverage, what is covered. For instance, medical evacuation from the country you’re visiting.
In addition to travel warnings issued by the State Department, the US government maintains a LIST OF TRAVEL HEALTH NOTICES ON THE CDC website, “Travelers’ Health.” The site describes the seriousness of a particular disease threat in a given area ranking that threat from most to least dangerous.
The CDC Travel Health Notices lists Level 3 threats, (red) which currently covers Ebola and advises avoiding nonessential travel, to Level 2 threats (yellow) which advises the practice of enhanced precautions such as for MERS in Saudi Arabia or polio in Somalia. And then green-level threats which advises taking usual precautions, such as for cholera in the Dominican Republic, Cuba, and Mexico, (http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel).
Looking at the US Passports and International Travel information available from the US Department of State is a good place to start when it comes to addressing your medical care abroad and your need for travel medical insurance and other needs, http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/go/health.html#healthy.
The site can address things you might never have thought of (like me) such as the fact that some US prescription medications are considered illegal in other countries so that you should obtain a letter from your physician describing your condition and medication you’re taking, and checking with the embassy of the country you’re traveling to in order to avoid problems. The site also has information on a citizen’s “Options During a Pandemic,” http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/emergencies/pandemics.html.
There are also things you have probably thought of like considering specific vaccinations you might need for a particular destination.
