September 2010

Important Travel Tips

In a recent article, Mark Anevich brings to light the fact that many Canadians, regardless of the location of their travel, still do not buy Travel Insurance.  An Ipsos Reid poll states that 37% of Canadians do not purchase Travel Insurance for trips to the United States.  Many Canadian road trips head south as a cost-efficient vacation, but without Travel Insurance, they are risking major expenses. 

Over the years we have heard several stories of clients who had received medical treatment out of the country and paid for it out of pocket instead of contacting their travel insurance provider.  One such case was that of a young couple whose one-year old daughter had mistakenly swallowed a loonie... or so they feared.  Not knowing for sure, they went right to the hospital.  After a $900 x-ray, they realized that she had not swallowed the coin.  They did not understand how out of country coverage worked, and thus had to foot the bill.

When out of country, no matter how minor the treatment, be sure to contact your travel coverage provider within 24 hours.  They will give you the instructions you need to ensure easy processing of your claim and the best possible reimbursement.

Thanks to Mike Anevich, we would like to provide you with a list of other misconceptions had about Travel Insurance:

1. My Canadian health plan will cover medical expenses in the USA
Provincial health plans do not cover the cost of treatment outside of Canada. Only a fraction of the cost of any US health care claim will be reimbursed if any.

2. My credit card provides travel insurance coverage.
Most credit cards do not provide travel health insurance coverage and those few premium credit cards that have travel insurance coverage either don't provide travel health insurance or if they do the policy has restrictions which may limit or exclude coverage.

3. I'm covered at work through my employer group health insurance plan;
Many group plans have limits on the amount of out-of-country coverage or have pre-existing exclusions. More importantly what happens in the event of a medical emergency and the hospitals request up-front payment guarantee or you require emergency air evacuation which can cost $10,000 or more?

4. If something happens to me in the USA, I can easily come home to get treated back in Canada;
This may be true for minor medical treatment which is non-emergent. However, in the event of a motor vehicle accident or serious medical emergency it is unlikely you would be able to delay treatment or be unable to travel due to your medical condition.

5. Travel insurance is too expensive and not worth the cost;
The average cost for a family of 4 travelling on a 2 week vacation by car to the US is less than $100 which works out to an average of $1.80 per person per day, less than the cost of a Starbuck coffee! Travel insurance can easily be purchased on-line or through a travel agent and is relatively inexpensive to protect your family against possible financial disaster.

For more questions on travel insurance, out of country coverage or for a quote, please contact TBSC.

Definition of Earnings
lt is important to know how your carrier defines earnings because it will come into play when a new employee is hired, or when a disability or life benefit is claimed.

Essentially, earnings is the Employee's regular rate of pay including regular bonuses, regular overtime pay and regular commissions.   Sporadic overtime earnings  as well as bonuses and incentive pay would not be included.   As this is a summarized version of how earnings is defined, we ask that you familiarize yourself with your carrier's definition which is found in your Group Benefits contract.

·         Urgent (Foothills)- 1 week before 90% of patients had their surgery

·         Urgent (U of A Hospital)- 2 weeks before 90% of patients had their surgery

·         Semi-Urgent (Foothills)- 2 weeks before 90% of patients had their surgery

·         Semi-Urgent (U of A Hospital)- 7 weeks before 90% of patients had their surgery

Timeliness of Care in Tertiary Oncology Facilities

·         Medical Oncologist (Cross Cancer Institute)- 6.1 weeks before 90% of patients will have their first consult

·         Radiation Oncologist (Cross Cancer Institute)- 9.9 weeks before 90% of patients will have their first consult

·         Medical Oncologist (Tom Baker)- 6.1 weeks before 90% of patients will have their first consult

·         Radiation Oncologist (Tom Baker)- 6.9 weeks before 90% of patients will have their first consult

·         In 2009, 10 weeks, up 0.8 from 2008
·        By specialist:

o   Plastic Surgery, 16.0 weeks
o  Gynecologist, 11.5 weeks
o  Opthamologist, 6.0 weeks
o  Otolaryngology, 12.0 weeks
o  General Surgery, 5.0 weeks
o  Neurosurgery, 16.0 weeks
o  Orthopedic Surgery, 28.0 weeks
o  Cardiovascular Surgery (urgent) 4.0 weeks
o  Urology, 12.0 weeks
o  Internal Medicine, 5.5 weeks
o  Radiation Oncology, 2.3 weeks
o  Medical Oncology, 4.0 weeks

o   Plastic Surgery, 16.3 weeks
o  Gynecologist, 7.2 weeks
o  Opthamologist, 8.8 weeks
o  Otolaryngology, 10.2 weeks
o  General Surgery, 6.0 weeks
o  Neurosurgery, 10.1 weeks
o  Orthopedic Surgery, 16.6 week
o  Cardiovascular Surgery (urgent) 1.0 weeks
o  Cardiovascular Surgery (non-urgent), 5.0 weeks
o  Urology, 5.1 weeks
o  Internal Medicine, 7.7 weeks
o  Radiation Oncology, 3.0 weeks
o  Medical Oncology, 2.1 weeks