There different types of travel health insurance plans you can buy. Some are very comprehensive, while others are more catastrophic in nature.

Regardless of the type of travel health coverage you buy, you should make sure that any plan you look at covers these four things:

1. Medical Translation Help: Communicating with doctors, nurses and hospital administrators in another country can be extremely difficult. How do you make a decision about treatment if you don’t know what the doctor is saying or how much the procedure is going to cost? Travel insurance companies deploy an army of translators who can help you bridge language gaps and culture gaps so that it’s easier to get the care you need.
2. Long-Term Hospitalization: Heaven forbid it should happen to you, but what would you do if your injury or illness made it impossible for you to fly home? Travel insurance will help you cover any immediate costs you have and negotiate that bill with your domestic insurance company on your behalf, to minimize any expenses you might have.
3. Out-of-Pocket Costs: Medical bills can quickly reach into multiple thousands of dollars, and it’s a safe bet that foreign hospitals are not going to accept your American medical insurance card. Medical bills away from home are usually settled with cash or credit. Travel insurance policies typically pay your up-front costs and then negotiate reimbursement with your health insurance provider after you’re safely back in the Unites States. Just be aware that most plans place a maximum dollar limit on your coverage, and many have a deductible you must pay before coverage kicks in.
4. Emergency Family Extraction: If there’s a major emergency while you’re overseas and you need to fly home early, travel insurance plans can help you get home safely and quickly. What’s most, if one or more members of your family is unable to return to the U.S. due to an injury or other medical problem, travel insurance plans will pay for the rest of the family to travel home while the remaining family member is being treated.

If you are looking for a travel insurance plan, eHealth can help to find the right health plan for you. Simply visit our travel insurance page to see a quote.

Related Health Insurance Articles

• What we learned from Mick Fanning’s shark encounter
• Key Terms for the Open Enrollment Period
• Types of Health Insurance: What to Buy under Obamacare