Five Myths About Medical Evacuations
By Everett Potter, Special for USA TODAY
It doesn’t matter if you’re into adventure travel, a frequent business traveler or simply someone heading off on a summer vacation. The fact is that accidents can happen, and sometimes they require medical care and assistance in getting home. But if you rely on your own health coverage or travel insurance to take care of you, you might be in for a big surprise. So to clear the air, here are five myths about medical evacuation coverage.
1.Medical evacuation is just another name for travel insurance.
“Travel insurance and medical evacuation services are anything but synonyms,” says Dan Richards, CEO and founder of Global Rescue.”Travel insurance protects travelers from financial loss resulting from canceled trips, lost baggage, medical expenses and some medical evacuation expenses. Medical evacuation is a service used to deliver a traveler to life-saving care that may not be available at the traveler’s location.”
Medical evacuation coverage is actually not insurance at all. It’s a “membership,” not a “policy,” and sold separately by a handful of companies like Global Rescue and MedjetAssist.
