Health Insurance?

imported
#1

Kinda late in the process but I figured where better to ask this question but in a forum on this site. The nagging from family and friends doesn’t seem to want to stop on the issue of Health Insurance while hiking. When I hiked the AT in 05’ I was in better shape money wise than I will be this summer on the PCT, so I was able to pay for extended cobra health coverage from my previous job. Now, that is not the case, so I was wondering if anybody knows any company that offers cheap emergency health coverage that might be good for hikers. I don’t really care about the day to day coverage in case I get a sore throat, but more about emergency situations like tripping and breaking an arm or a leg or something…any body have any good leads for me?

Patch

#2

You don’t need Health Insurance for hiking, you need health insurance for life. The best plan on the trail, is also going to be the best one at home. The best plans are the ones that qualify you to open a Health Savings Account. I am only familiar with the plans for Georgia.

Jesse

#3

A bit off topic but for anyone from the non-USA thinking of hiking in the USA then health/ travel insurance to cover you in the event of an emergency is a must. Most travel insurance policies dont consider hiking to be high risk.
Getting sick in the US can be a very costly exercise.

medicineman

#4

I use Golden Rule for a cheap, high deductible major medical insurance, HSA compatible too at least where I live. Look online and get a quote. Good luck.

Garlic

#5

I thru-hiked the AT last year and bought a rather cheap plan from AIG called TravelGuard. It was like $150 or $200 and covered me up to $10,000 for the whole summer. I did make one ER visit in Pearisburg for a toe infection. It ended up being covered (although there were several phone calls and faxes that had to take place). Without the insurance that one 5 minute visit would have cost me over $800…so the way I look at it: the insurance definitely paid for itself.

As we all know, hospital visits in the U.S. are VERY expensive, even if the doc looks at you for 2 minutes and says “yep, its an infection, take some antibiotics”. $300 for the hosptial, and $500 for the doctor. it’s pretty sad actually.

lakewood

#6

no matter what solution you go with…make sure to keep all receipts for anything health or travel related. it will make filing a claim so much easier (if you have to file one). I had to show proof of my flight to Atlanta just to show that I traveled somewhere. I guess telling them that I hiked 2174 miles from Georgia to Maine wasn’t enough. :slight_smile:

lakewood

#7

Depends on what’s available in your home state I think. You could also look into Fortis, which I used when I lived in Maine and hiked the AT.
On another note, if you need medical attention, try to go to a walk in center if you can, they might be less expensive and ER and you will probably be seen sooner.

Zero