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Hi -
I would like to purchase visitor medical insurance for the visit of my
parents. My father is 71 years old and my mother is 69 years old. I would
like to have the maximum possible coverage limit available for their
respective ages. Also, I am looking for a reliable and financially sound
insurance company with good customer and claims service. Which insurance
programs would you recommend?
I spent some time researching the material presented on your website and I
have a few questions.
My parents left India in March and are currently visiting Thailandfor a
period of 2 months. After that, they will come to America in May. On their
return journey, they will go from US to Thailand first and then to India.Are they eligible for purchasing medical insurance
for their visit to America? Will their intermediate visit to Thailand
preclude them from coverage?
Yes, your parents would be eligible to enroll in a medical insurance plan. No, their intermediate visit to Thailand will not exclude them from coverage. Although, with any IMG products such as ExPatriot Plus, Patriot, or Protection America for ages 65 and older the initial period of coverage must begin within 30 days of their arrival in the U.S or any time before arrival in the US.
Are there are any advantages/disadvantages of purchasing a joint policy
or both of my parents as opposed to separate policies for either of them?
If I purchase a joint policy, then is the deductible and co-insurance
payments of comprehensive insurance plans cumulative
across both of them, or apply separately to either of them?
Whether you buy one combined policy or separate policy for each person, all the benefits are per person. Policy maximum is per person, co-insurance, and deductible. There are many advantages in buying separate policy each person. Just in case one parent would like to go back early, you can renew the policy for the other parent. You can't achieve that if you put your parents on one application. In case one parent has a claim, and the other parent with no claim is going back early (or both are going back early), you can get a refund for the parent who never submitted a claim. You definitely have more options for each individual if you did separate applications.
The only disadvantage in having separate policies is that, if you buy a renewable plan, and you want to renew for both parents, you would have to pay a renewal fee (let's say 5) per person, instead of $5 per policy.
How would you compare World Med with Protection America, Expatriot Plus,
Patriot America and Atlas America? Is AIG backed World Med a better plan
than the other IMG or Lloyds plans? Also, is dealing with TIS any better or
worse than IMG for claims processing?
If you are looking for a higher maximum benefit for your father, than World Med would be a good plan. You father would be able to get $100K, whereas all the other plans would give him $50K maximum. Depending on whether or not having a PPO network is important to you would be another factor on selecting a plan. World Med, Protection America, and Atlas America all have networks. Whereas, Patriot America and ExPatriot Plus do not. When you parents go to doctors and hosptials in the network, they will charge only the Network Negotiated Fee which is a discounted fee in many cases and can bill directly to the company.
How would you compare the Multiplan PPO network of World Med with the
First Health PPO network of Protection America?
First Health is the largest most well recognized network. It has approximately 67% of all the hospitals in the US and over 500K physicians in the network. MultiPlan is a good network, but not as many providers.
On your website, it says that Protection America plan is not HIPAA
compliant. What does that entail and what are the risks involved in
purchasing such a plan?
These plans are not HIPAA compliant because they do not cover pre-existing conditions. All the visitor medical insurance (or any other short terms insurance plans) are NOT HIPAA compliant.
Is World Med plan HIPAA compliant?
No
Is there a PPO network involved for prescription drugs for either World
Med or any of the IMG plans?
No, network for prescription drugs in any company, only medical.
For World Med plan, is the 20/80 co-insurance split for the first $5000
of eligible expenses annual, per period of policy coverage, or per
sickness/illness event?
Annual
For the World Med plan, are emergency room charges covered? If so, is
there a separate deductible involved when the treatment does not involve
admittance to the hospital?
Yes, emergency room charges are covered.
For non-US citizens visiting US for a temporary period, is there a plan
that covers sudden recurrence of a pre-existing condition (diabetes, high
blood pressure). It looks like ExPatriot Plus provides such coverage for US
citizens traveling outside the US.
No
What is a specialty plan?
That just means that it is somewhere between fixed and comprehensive coverage. There is overall $250k limit for 70-74 age, but there are coverage max. limitations for serveral things like heart attack.
I'll appreciate if you could please provide me with this information.
Thanks,
IM
I would like to purchase visitor medical insurance for the visit of my
parents. My father is 71 years old and my mother is 69 years old. I would
like to have the maximum possible coverage limit available for their
respective ages. Also, I am looking for a reliable and financially sound
insurance company with good customer and claims service. Which insurance
programs would you recommend?
I spent some time researching the material presented on your website and I
have a few questions.
My parents left India in March and are currently visiting Thailandfor a
period of 2 months. After that, they will come to America in May. On their
return journey, they will go from US to Thailand first and then to India.Are they eligible for purchasing medical insurance
for their visit to America? Will their intermediate visit to Thailand
preclude them from coverage?
Yes, your parents would be eligible to enroll in a medical insurance plan. No, their intermediate visit to Thailand will not exclude them from coverage. Although, with any IMG products such as ExPatriot Plus, Patriot, or Protection America for ages 65 and older the initial period of coverage must begin within 30 days of their arrival in the U.S or any time before arrival in the US.
Are there are any advantages/disadvantages of purchasing a joint policy
or both of my parents as opposed to separate policies for either of them?
If I purchase a joint policy, then is the deductible and co-insurance
payments of comprehensive insurance plans cumulative
across both of them, or apply separately to either of them?
Whether you buy one combined policy or separate policy for each person, all the benefits are per person. Policy maximum is per person, co-insurance, and deductible. There are many advantages in buying separate policy each person. Just in case one parent would like to go back early, you can renew the policy for the other parent. You can't achieve that if you put your parents on one application. In case one parent has a claim, and the other parent with no claim is going back early (or both are going back early), you can get a refund for the parent who never submitted a claim. You definitely have more options for each individual if you did separate applications.
The only disadvantage in having separate policies is that, if you buy a renewable plan, and you want to renew for both parents, you would have to pay a renewal fee (let's say 5) per person, instead of $5 per policy.
How would you compare World Med with Protection America, Expatriot Plus,
Patriot America and Atlas America? Is AIG backed World Med a better plan
than the other IMG or Lloyds plans? Also, is dealing with TIS any better or
worse than IMG for claims processing?
If you are looking for a higher maximum benefit for your father, than World Med would be a good plan. You father would be able to get $100K, whereas all the other plans would give him $50K maximum. Depending on whether or not having a PPO network is important to you would be another factor on selecting a plan. World Med, Protection America, and Atlas America all have networks. Whereas, Patriot America and ExPatriot Plus do not. When you parents go to doctors and hosptials in the network, they will charge only the Network Negotiated Fee which is a discounted fee in many cases and can bill directly to the company.
How would you compare the Multiplan PPO network of World Med with the
First Health PPO network of Protection America?
First Health is the largest most well recognized network. It has approximately 67% of all the hospitals in the US and over 500K physicians in the network. MultiPlan is a good network, but not as many providers.
On your website, it says that Protection America plan is not HIPAA
compliant. What does that entail and what are the risks involved in
purchasing such a plan?
These plans are not HIPAA compliant because they do not cover pre-existing conditions. All the visitor medical insurance (or any other short terms insurance plans) are NOT HIPAA compliant.
Is World Med plan HIPAA compliant?
No
Is there a PPO network involved for prescription drugs for either World
Med or any of the IMG plans?
No, network for prescription drugs in any company, only medical.
For World Med plan, is the 20/80 co-insurance split for the first $5000
of eligible expenses annual, per period of policy coverage, or per
sickness/illness event?
Annual
For the World Med plan, are emergency room charges covered? If so, is
there a separate deductible involved when the treatment does not involve
admittance to the hospital?
Yes, emergency room charges are covered.
For non-US citizens visiting US for a temporary period, is there a plan
that covers sudden recurrence of a pre-existing condition (diabetes, high
blood pressure). It looks like ExPatriot Plus provides such coverage for US
citizens traveling outside the US.
No
What is a specialty plan?
That just means that it is somewhere between fixed and comprehensive coverage. There is overall $250k limit for 70-74 age, but there are coverage max. limitations for serveral things like heart attack.
I'll appreciate if you could please provide me with this information.
Thanks,
IM
