Don't get sick outside of the usa !!

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mopars0

mopars0

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I've been laid up for a little while,just thought I'd give ya a little heads up.

If you get sick outside the USA ya better have alot of money or credit cards with you. I was on a fishing trip in Canada and had a stroke well they wouldn't treat me before I gave them a credit card because they wouldn't take my Ins card. THANKS CANADA FOR TREATING YOUR U.S. TOURIST LIKE HE WAS A SECOND HAND CITIZEN

Now we're getting the bills for the credit cards which by the way are over $5100 for 25 hrs in the hospital,a CT scan & 2 ambulances rides. They wouldn't put me on the table to get the CT scan until I gave them a credit card. I'm a retired state employee with one of the best ins around but they said they stopped taking any US ins because they were having trouble getting paid. We did talk to our ins company and they said to pay the credit card bills and send them a statement, then they will pay credit cards & the credit card company will pay us back.....We''ll see how this works.... Oh one other thing I spent over 25 hrs in Canada hospital & they found nothing ,signing myself out of hospital, headed home 12 hr drive ( my buddy drove ) went to my hospital here & with in 2 hrs , 2 Ct scans & another test they knew I had a stroke......spent 6 day in hospital ....getting better everyday. Sorry about the long letter about this but just thought it might help someone if they're planning a trip out of the US.
 
Really sorry to hear you had a bad experience with our health care system up here in Canada. May I ask which Province?

I am glad you are getting better and hopefully feeling better too.

I have to say that even as a federal emplyee with insuance, I normally pay for extra insurance when staying for an extended period of time in the US for that very reason you mentioned... health care for a non resident is CASH and not cheap whether you go to another country or as in Canada another province even. In Ontario here it's even getting to be multi tiered... you have money you get treated, no money or provincial health insurance you wait and wait. It is getting worse and will only continue getting worse until politicains smarten up and the rich stop being so greedy....$hit we are DOOOMED!

I do hope you continue to get better and feel better soon
 
She's a 2 way street ladies and gentleman. We have to carry private emergency medical insurance (not Canadian healthcare) whenever we go to the United States because the hospital bills could bankrupt us. If we have to go to the hospital in the US were told to bank on a $10,000/day bill for the stay which includes MRI's, CT scans and the actual bed and doctors bills. I had to go to a clinic in north Idaho for an eye infection this last summer and no they wouldn't take my Canadian Emergency Medical card there and I had to pay with a credit card. Cost me $500 for a doctor and clinic and 20 minutes of their valuable time. Got back to Canada and was reinbursed the full amount and was told that same clinic visit in Canada would have cost our health care system $150. So Who's getting screwed. As far as the hospital you went to missing out on a stroke diagnosis I can't say but stuff like that is rarily missed and I'm glad to hear you're getting better.
 
Kernel Sanders said:
Really sorry to hear you had a bad experience with our health care system up here in Canada. May I ask which Province?

I am glad you are getting better and hopefully feeling better too.

I have to say that even as a federal emplyee with insuance, I normally pay for extra insurance when staying for an extended period of time in the US for that very reason you mentioned... health care for a non resident is CASH and not cheap whether you go to another country or as in Canada another province even. In Ontario here it's even getting to be multi tiered... you have money you get treated, no money or provincial health insurance you wait and wait. It is getting worse and will only continue getting worse until politicains smarten up and the rich stop being so greedy....$hit we are DOOOMED!

I do hope you continue to get better and feel better soon
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I was in Temiscaming and was sent to North Bay hospital too
 
demon seed said:
She's a 2 way street ladies and gentleman. We have to carry private emergency medical insurance (not Canadian healthcare) whenever we go to the United States because the hospital bills could bankrupt us. If we have to go to the hospital in the US were told to bank on a $10,000/day bill for the stay which includes MRI's, CT scans and the actual bed and doctors bills. I had to go to a clinic in north Idaho for an eye infection this last summer and no they wouldn't take my Canadian Emergency Medical card there and I had to pay with a credit card. Cost me $500 for a doctor and clinic and 20 minutes of their valuable time. Got back to Canada and was reinbursed the full amount and was told that same clinic visit in Canada would have cost our health care system $150. So Who's getting screwed. As far as the hospital you went to missing out on a stroke diagnosis I can't say but stuff like that is rarily missed and I'm glad to hear you're getting better.
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about the same charges here for an eye infection or removing forerun parts from an eye demon seed.
This is good to know if I ever travel anywhere

I am glad mopars0 is home and hope he has a full recovery Learning something everyday
 
demon seed said:
She's a 2 way street ladies and gentleman. We have to carry private emergency medical insurance (not Canadian healthcare) whenever we go to the United States because the hospital bills could bankrupt us. If we have to go to the hospital in the US were told to bank on a $10,000/day bill for the stay which includes MRI's, CT scans and the actual bed and doctors bills. I had to go to a clinic in north Idaho for an eye infection this last summer and no they wouldn't take my Canadian Emergency Medical card there and I had to pay with a credit card. Cost me $500 for a doctor and clinic and 20 minutes of their valuable time. Got back to Canada and was reinbursed the full amount and was told that same clinic visit in Canada would have cost our health care system $150. So Who's getting screwed. As far as the hospital you went to missing out on a stroke diagnosis I can't say but stuff like that is rarily missed and I'm glad to hear you're getting better.
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Oh I'm sure it works the same down here as you say but I just don't see why all the hassle if you have ins why you have to buy extra ins. They also just took my credit cards & even asked what my limits were on the credit cards. Seems like they were more worried how they were getting payed for their services. All I know I'll been going to the same place for 17 yrs in the fall ( fishing trip ) and this is probably my last trip.
 
Glad to hear you're okay! Canadians deal with the same issues when visiting the U.S. it seems. My biggest worry was when in Mexico. Bigger horror stories there. I was afraid to get ill!

I go fishing up on Lake Nipissing each year. It's just a good thing you had credit cards with you. They sounded kinda rude, but that is also considered a remote area. I'm wondering if things may have been different in a large metropolitan area. When somebody has a major event like yours the patient should come first.
 
I had a similar issue with the health care system in Europe. I'm so glad our government sees fit to emulate these "better" systems.
 
Some country's are not this way. Australia and new Zealand require a visa and so they know how many tourists are visiting. All tourist get complimentary full emergency medical. Had an uncle bust an elbow at a waterslide park, he was impressed with the care given with never a mention of costs.
 
mopars0 said:
Oh I'm sure it works the same down here as you say but I just don't see why all the hassle if you have ins why you have to buy extra ins. They also just took my credit cards & even asked what my limits were on the credit cards. Seems like they were more worried how they were getting payed for their services. All I know I'll been going to the same place for 17 yrs in the fall ( fishing trip ) and this is probably my last trip.
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Sorry to hear about your experience in North Bay.We,ve all heard horro stories from all country,s.I,m sure your insurance will reimburse you and you can put this behind you.Out of 17 fishing trips,I wouldn,t let this spoil your good times up here.Just sayin..Hope your feeling better.
 
Was in a hospital in Bahrain for a week. Don't know what the bill was. Navy took care of it for me. Bet it was a lot though.

Even here in the US it is not good if you don't have insurance. One visit for six stiches cost me 1200 bucks.

Another visit cost me 14 grand. Was only there for one night and they could not even tell me what had me dubbled over in pain. Doc just said "I don't know what it is just going to give you a bunch of pills and send you home."
 
My family has gone to a small hospital in Jakarta a few times. The doctor spent at least 30 min and the bill was about 100,000 Rp. That is $10. Like many, my company went to a "high deductible" insurance plan. We pay "list price" for everything until we spend $3K/person/yr, then they start chipping in. Doesn't take long for that. I have no fear of Obamacare. I think the Canadians have a good deal. Too bad you weren't one. Wear a Maple leaf shirt next time and you might slip thru.
 
I can't believe that the Canadian hospital did not find anything wrong after putting you through that hassle for the credit card.
 
Here in AZ illegal mexican's and californian's both get treated better than that.:protest:






Sorry, I had to throw Californian's in there just because.
It's a state joke.
 
krazykuda said:
I can't believe that the Canadian hospital did not find anything wrong after putting you through that hassle for the credit card.
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ya I wasn't impressed with the treatment but I didn't get there with in the first hour or so. We were 18 miles by boat from the public dock, but after they run me to North Bay and then found nothing on the CT scan they just kept me drugged up & IV in my arm for 25 hours at $2700 a night. Even had to ask them for some jello so that's when I told my buddy that I was getting the hell out of there and signed myself out.
 
TrailBeast said:
Here in AZ illegal mexican's and californian's both get treated better than that.:protest:

LOL and we get cheaper gas while in AZ, too!!!

Really, guys, healthcare costs keep climbing for a few reasons. My wife was a nurse, my sister is a nurse (former supervisor), sister-in-law is a nurse (supervisor), and one of my best friends is a doctor. Plus, I worked in a hospital for 6 years when I thought I wanted to be a doctor.....that experience changed my mind.

First and primary reason for increasing healthcare costs is....insurance companies. They add another layer of cost to you. They also can refuse to pay for something that a doctor deemed needed such as a CT scan. If they refuse to pay for something, guess who pays? You do. Insurance companies usually make a profit, if they don't, they go out of business.

The second reason for increasing costs is ......litigation and malpractice insurance premiums. As the jury awards keep increasing, the insurance premiums for doctors, nurses, technicians, etc. keep increasing. It is common for a lawyer to include everyone possible as defendants in their client's malpractice suits. It happened to my sister. She wasn't even in the room but since she was the nursing supervisor for that shift, she got hit with a lawsuit. The next year, her insurance premium doubled.

Another reason is Obamacare which prevents companies from deducting the cost of their contribution to your insurance from their taxes. So now U.S. companies are passing more of the cost of YOUR healthcare to you, the user.

There are other costs that I could discuss but I gotta go.

Later.
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Yep,it sure does work both ways. I went for an ambulance ride and a 2 hour stay in the hospital for $5,000.Thank God I have insurance. But the one big difference is the type of care I received.Couldn't ask to to be cared for better in the American hospital,they checked everything and made absolutely sure before relaesing me.Up here I would have sat in the hallway for 4-6 hours before anyone even looked at me. :hmph:
 
first off, glad your ok! that the main here!

If you purchase "travel insurance", expect other countries to be skeptical and ask for it up front. For them it's about getting paid for services!
For the underwriter, it's all about paying the least amount possible! It's a business! Private for the most part! There is no universal agreement that says a private "Insurance" company has to pay for services to you (even though you paid for it)while you were there in that country! The country is looking after itself! and that's a shame. Humanity can suck!
You best read the fine print, hope the heck nothing happens to you there and take it from the behind for the premium to think your covered automatically!
Don't forget to cross your T's and dot your I's because you will need it.

ps - don't forget to have deep pockets for when you get home and go after them.
 
DRENO said:
Yep,it sure does work both ways. I went for an ambulance ride and a 2 hour stay in the hospital for $5,000.Thank God I have insurance. But the one big difference is the type of care I received.Couldn't ask to to be cared for better in the American hospital,they checked everything and made absolutely sure before relaesing me.Up here I would have sat in the hallway for 4-6 hours before anyone even looked at me. :hmph:
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I understand the universal health care and glad that everyone is covered but if the government pays for all this I would think that the hospitals & Dr's would be more closely watched. I know I was a small remote hospital but just saying....it was bad !!!
 
I visited New Zealand a couple of months ago.....the best part is, you don't need a Visa if your going there, or vice versa.
 
I live on the east coast of canada where we have free health care. I went to the hosiptal last year for a sever throat infection and waited 5 hours (normal wait time), people were coming in with colds and passing there msi card (health card) and private insurance with it, and they got in quicker. morral of the story is our health care is free but if your not dying Msi won't help much
 
I am glad you are doing ok now. Lots of folks go on a cruise ships and if you get sick they will dump you at nearest port. God help you if you land in mexico because someone in US will have to wire money before they let you out of hospital.
 
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