Where to find travel insurance?

I had my pm inserted 6 days ago. Was planning a trip to the U.S. in early November/2014. Now my travel insurance will not cover anything "heart related" while I'm away for a week. My doctor says I should go, and the surgeon says "no problem" re. travel.
Should I risk it? Any comments or suggestions?
Thank you.

9 Comments

Get it checked...

by Lurch - 2014-09-05 05:09:09

right before you leave. Make any adjustments necessary, then give it a couple of days before you leave to make sure it works right!

Here in the US you can go to a hospital and get treatment without paying advance....

travel insurance

by August30 - 2014-09-05 06:09:24

Thanks so much. This is all new to me. I'm just afraid- in my head- that something unexpected might happen involving the pace maker, and I'll be looking at paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for hospital fees that my plan won't cover. The event is an important family wedding in Orlando so I hate to miss it. I do have an appointment Oct. 14/14 at a device clinic to check my new pace maker.
Thanks.

travel ins

by trish - 2014-09-05 06:09:47

I am 7months post implant, am going to Greece Got trip ins through Trafalgar, no questions asked. Trish

Travel insurance

by August30 - 2014-09-05 06:09:56

Thanks Trish. I will check out Trafalgar. Not sure if it's available in Canada.

No problems

by Theknotguy - 2014-09-06 03:09:46

Left US for trip to UK. No problems with the PM. Was able to get travel insurance that would take care of just about anything through the local travel club.

As said above, you can go to any US hospital and be taken care of . PM diagnostic equipment is almost everywhere. Florida has so many old people that your PM should be adequately covered.

No problems with the PM and travel. I showed my PM card at the Columbus, Ohio airport. After that all the other airports didn't care I had a PM. The scanner in Detroit, Michigan picked up my medical alert tag but ignored the PM.

My wife and I had more problems with the CPAP machine and diabetic equipment in the airports than with the PM. CPAP's have to be checked at each US airport. For some reason London Heathrow had a problem with the carrying case for the diabetic insulin. Other than that, no problems.

For the EMT's (the people in the ambulance) and the people in the hospital emergency rooms, it is best to have a complete printout of all your medications, also that you have a PM, what type of PM, how to contact your doctor, any allergies, anything else they should know. I got a medical alert tag that has all that info so I can pull it out in case I have to call for an ambulance or need to go to the hospital.

Almost all of the USA has gone to 911 for medical emergencies. That means you can have anyone pick up a telephone, punch the numbers 911, and have emergency medical service. In most large cities in the USA that means a response time of less than 15 minutes. In certain areas of Florida that means a response time of less than five minutes.

Most of the ambulance services can respond to a high level of heart problems. My heart completely stopped in the ambulance and they were able to get it restarted. They were able to do an EKG and transmit it to the hospital before I even arrived. With the medication printout the hospital knew that before I arrived too. In one instance (for me) the EMT in the ambulance was able to call into the hospital and temporarily stop my heart in an effort to stop my afib. (Don't recommend it but they can do it.)

I feel you should be able to travel to the USA and Florida without any problems.

Hope you enjoy the wedding!

Interested as well

by Marie12 - 2014-09-06 04:09:51

I understand your concern. I've been looking for the same thing. Comfortable that I can get the proper care in the US, just not about how to pay for it. I know our Medicare would cover some but not enough. I did talk to CAA and they said they would cover existing conditions but only if your condition was stable. By stable they mean no changes in medication or anything else three months prior to purchasing the insurance.

I agree

by August30 - 2014-09-07 01:09:24

Unfortunately my pm had to be inserted after I had purchased a very basic AMA coverage. Now it is only 60 days before the trip so I am not considered stable as far as heart related issues. Let me know what you're going to do Marie12. It sounds like we are on the same page!

Thanks

by August30 - 2014-09-13 04:09:20

Thanks for the feed back. Makes me feel that I have some support in my new situation of having a pm.

Me too.

by NormaLou - 2014-09-13 11:09:03

I have a PM and my husband and I travel in a motor home and are gone 3-4 months at a time. I have never had a problem. But if a problem arises there are hospitals everywhere (if you are in the U.S.)
A shame your travel insurance won't cover it.

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