About Medicare

It is important to know that Medicare cannot be used outside the U.S. and its territories except for certain situations, like being aboard a ship or close to the border with Canada. When applying for a visa to any country in the European Union, full-coverage health insurance that is valid in the EU is required, not just travel insurance. USpania has partnered with two well-established companies for our clients to obtain health coverage. These are listed in the menu. The information below is from the U.S. government’s website for Medicare. You may also access the site directly at www.medicare.gov. The link to the part dealing with being outside of the U.S. is Travel Medical Coverage.

That link contains the following:

Travel outside the U.S.

Medicare usually does not cover health care while you are traveling outside the U.S. There are some exceptions, including some cases where Medicare Part B (Medical Insurance) may pay for services that you get on board a ship within the territorial waters adjoining the land areas of the U.S.

Medicare may pay for inpatient hospital, doctor, and ambulance services you get in a foreign country in these rare cases:

⦁ You are in the U.S. when a medical emergency occurs, and the foreign hospital is closer than the nearest U.S. hospital that can treat your medical condition.
⦁ You are traveling through Canada without unreasonable delay by the most direct route between Alaska and another U.S state when a medical emergency occurs, and the Canadian hospital is closer than the nearest U.S. hospital that can treat the emergency.
⦁ You live in the U.S. and the foreign hospital is closer to your home than the nearest U.S. hospital that can treat your medical condition, regardless of whether an emergency exists.

Medicare may cover medically necessary ambulance transportation to a foreign hospital only with admission for medically necessary covered inpatient hospital services.

Medicare drug coverage (Part D) covers all vaccines that the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommends, including certain vaccines you might need to get before you travel outside the U.S. (like yellow fever, chikungunya, and Japanese encephalitis). Your Part D plan will not charge you a copayment or apply a deductible for vaccines ACIP recommends. Contact your Medicare drug plan for details and talk to your provider about which ones are right for you.

Your costs in Original Medicare

You pay 100% of the costs, in most cases. In the situations described above, you pay the part of the charge you would normally pay for covered services. This includes any medically necessary doctor and ambulance services you get in a foreign country as a part of a covered inpatient hospital stay. You also pay the coinsurance, copayments, and deductibles you would normally pay if you got these same services or supplies in the U.S.

In the situations above, Medicare pays only for services covered under Original Medicare: Medicare Part A (Hospital Insurance), which covers hospital care (care you get when you have been formally admitted with a doctor’s order to the foreign hospital as an inpatient).

⦁ Part B covers emergency and non-emergency ⦁ ambulance and ⦁ doctor services you get immediately before and during your covered foreign inpatient hospital stay. Medicare generally will not pay for services (like return ambulance trips home) in either of these cases:
⦁ Medicare did not cover your hospital stay.
⦁ You got ambulance and doctor services outside the hospital after your covered hospital stay ended.

Note
Foreign hospitals are not required to file Medicare claims for your travel medical costs. You need to submit an itemized bill to Medicare for your doctor, inpatient, and ambulance services if both of these apply:
⦁ You are admitted to a foreign hospital under one of the situations above
⦁ The foreign hospital does not submit Medicare claims for you

To find out how much your test, item, or service will cost, talk to your doctor or health care provider. The specific amount you will owe may depend on several things, like:
⦁ Other insurance you may have
⦁ How much your doctor charges
⦁ If your doctor accepts the assignment
⦁ The type of facility
⦁ Where you get your test, item, or service

Things to know

The 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa are considered part of the U.S. Anywhere else is considered outside the U.S.

Medicare drug plans do not cover prescription drugs you buy outside the U.S.

Medicare supplement insurance (Medigap) policies may cover emergency care when you travel outside the U.S.

Note
Because Medicare has limited travel medical coverage outside the U.S., you may choose to buy a travel insurance policy to get more coverage. An insurance agent or travel agent can give you more information about the cost of travel medical insurance. Travel insurance does not necessarily include health insurance, so it is important to read the conditions or restrictions carefully.

For more information check out the article: Will Medicare cover me if I travel outside the United States?