I cannot imagine a more frustrating subject than that of health care for full-time travelers. \u00a0 How do you make sure you are covered, if a problem crops up while you are on the road? \u00a0 It is one of those questions that has no good answer.<\/p>\n
I have spoken to dozens of people about this, and numerous full-timers, and it is clear there is no “magic bullet” solution. Most of my retired traveling friends have government- or corporate-sponsored retirement health plans, so they don’t worry about it. \u00a0 Others are carrying over their health insurance from their last jobs, under the COBRA act. \u00a0 Some are covered under a spouse’s plan. \u00a0 But quite a few are “bare” — meaning they have no insurance at all, or inadequate insurance.<\/p>\n
We fall in the last category: our coverage is really inadequate. \u00a0 For everything except emergencies, we have to go back to Vermont. \u00a0 When Eleanor had a major migraine episode two years ago, we paid cash for medical care in Tampa, then flew her to Vermont for follow-up. \u00a0 Obviously that’s far from ideal.<\/p>\n
For those who do have health insurance, when I ask what happens if they get sick while far from home, most don’t know. \u00a0 They aren’t sure if their health insurance covers them out-of-state, and if so, for how long. \u00a0 Emergencies only? \u00a0 Follow-up visits? \u00a0 Full reimbursement, or just partial? \u00a0 When I ask, I usually get a blank look.<\/p>\n
Most people aren’t sure if they are covered in while traveling in Canada or Mexico. \u00a0 They don’t know if they will have to pay up-front and fight for reimbursement later. \u00a0 They don’t know how to get a doctor referral in a strange town.<\/p>\n
And even if you know all those answers … can you afford health insurance without an employer to pay most of the premium?<\/p>\n
I hate to dry up the blog with a subject like this, but it’s a huge problem — for us, and for many others. \u00a0 We are at the intersection of two negative factors: \u00a0 we are full-time travelers, and I am self-employed. \u00a0 That means we need coverage that goes everywhere in the USA, and we need something that is affordable. \u00a0 But in the US, you can have a nationwide network of doctors, affordable prices, or good reimbursement for your expenses — pick any two<\/em>.<\/p>\n The current presidential campaign certainly has brought up the issue of health care cost and availability, but I am not filled with hope that any of the candidates will be effective at doing something about it. \u00a0 The problem is huge. \u00a0 It seems likely that for the foreseeable future I’ll be responsible for paying for the health care of my family.<\/p>\n On the plus side, we have small advantages. \u00a0 We can become residents of a state where there are more healthcare insurance options. \u00a0 As my own employer, I can institute any health plan that is available to us. \u00a0 A lot of people are going to partially self-insured plans, or “consumer directed coverage” such as a Health Savings Account<\/a> (HSA). \u00a0 That may be an option for us.<\/p>\n But in the current health care environment, any solution is complex, filled with little “gotchas” and highly individualized. \u00a0 What works for us may not work for you. \u00a0 So when people innocently ask me, “What do you do about health care on the road?” I can only sigh … because I know any answer I give will probably not be useful.<\/p>\n