8 Myths About Medical Repatriation and Evacuation
Posted on June 26, 2018
Chances of you falling sick or getting fatally injured are always there, making medical repatriation an important part of our lives. Especially if you are in a foreign land, where required medical treatment is not available, you would have to be medically evacuated. Emergency medical evacuation will organize for you to be transported to an appropriate medical facility. Even though medevac has been there for sometime, a lot of people are still not aware of the benefits of medical evacuation membership or face some ambiguity in terms of the services provided by a medical repatriation company. Here are eight such misconceptions that need to be cleared for people to get the service they deserve in a emergency:
Medical Evacuation is another term of Travel Assurance
Travel assurance usually covers a traveller against financial losses in case of theft, lost baggage, cancelled trips, medical expenses and probably a portion of medical evacuation expenses. Medical evacuation on the other hand is a full-fledged service that takes responsibility of transporting the traveller to a medical facility in the face of such an adversity. This service becomes very crucial if there is a lack of life-saving care at the traveller’s location.
There is no difference between Medical Evacuation and Medical Repatriation
Medical evacuation is more of an emergency service that transports a patient/traveller from their existing location, however remote, to a medical facility. Whereas, medical repatriation facilitates mostly inter facility transfers and this service can be availed even if a patient is not in need of critical care. Moreover, repatriation also happens when someone dies and their remains are brought back to their loved ones.
Health Assurance covers Medical Evacuation
Where it is true that health policies do cover your medical bills, it is rare that they will provide for transportation of this nature. In cases where it does give you coverage, it might be limited to transporting you to an ‘adequate’ facility, meaning it might not be a facility that your loved ones or you would have opted for if you were given a choice.
Coverage offered by Credit Cards is sufficient
Again, the extent to which you are covered by your credit card all depends on the underlining terms that are usually too broad, take for instance the term: ‘Hospital of Choice’. In most cases your credit card company will compensate you for the medical evacuation costs incurred, there is however the need to make arrangements and other critical elements will still be there. From finding the most appropriate location to organising an ambulance, there is a lot that goes into it. This all becomes too troublesome, especially when you are in an emergency situation.
Medical Evacuation membership is not important if you are travelling within your country
Accidents within your country can be as fatal as it happening anywhere else abroad. When something like that happens you would instinctively want to be back into your network of friends and family. Statistics show that patients who are treated in care environments, around their support group, show better results. Hence why a large number of transports are done domestically.
Trusted medical evacuation companies like AirMed, not only ensure that you are fully taken care of from the time the first call is made, they also provide you with an option to choose a facility of your choice. Moreover, make all other necessary arrangements if need be.
It is an added expense that one can do without
Medevac costs can sometimes exceed $250, 000 and if you are not covered you will have to bear these catastrophic costs all by yourself. There are numerous packages offered by AirMed, depending on your budget and need you can pick one that suits you.
Medical Evacuation policies are riddled with hidden costs
Medical evacuation is a membership that is sold by medical repatriation companies, entitling you to medical evacuation and is not a policy. In the midst of an emergency, reliability and cost should be your last concern. AirMed provides access to unsurpassed quality of care without hidden fees, where you will be paying subscription charges only. Check plans offered by AirMed.
MedEvac will cover all your medical expenses
Typically, a basic plan will cover: ground transportation to a medically configured aircraft, the flight itself, followed by ground transportation to the receiving facility. Where your travel or health assurance will cover other medical expenses such as: room charges, doctors fee and medication.