Insurance help/advice for a hiking New Yawker

[A-Train]

Hello folks.

I'm very much planning on having health insurance for my upcoming PCT hike, as I think it would be silly to risk not having it in case of an emergency or sickness.

The problem is, most temporary insurance plans I've found (through searching the forums here and at TJ's) don't exist for NY residents. Besides trying to sign up with an out of state address, does anyone know of any companies who offer this service to NY residents?

I've found some very reasonable HMO programs in the NY area, some of which my home doctor accepts, but I'm looking to have a plan which will allow me to visit a doctor in California, Oregon and Washington, should I need antibiotics or an emergency room visit. The Healthy NY plans don't allow for that.

Thanks for any advice/insight

[gsingjane]

Thinking about this, why wouldn't your HMO cover care sought while on vacation or travelling? People get sick or injured all the time while travelling, and I can't imagine an HMO could get away with refusing to cover an insured just because he happened to be away from home at the time. Even if there is a higher deductible for an ER visit, it would still seem like there should be coverage - now consulting a doctor on a regular basis, probably not, but certainly in case of an emergency. I would try to talk to someone at my HMO (hard, I know, but persist) and tell them you are going on vacation and ask what coverage is available - it may not be in the materials they give you, but it's got to be in there somewhere. I just never heard of a plan that would require an insured to return to his home state for emergency coverage.

Jane in CT

[gilmour14]

I also noticed that a lot of the Insurance companies recommended on whiteblaze don't exist for those of us from New York and Mass. I did find a short term travel insurance plan from CSA Travel Protection for about 400$ for 6 months (starting 6/10 sobo). This covers medical up to 50,000 and medical evacuation up to 250,000. Has anyone heard anything about this company? Are they reputable at all?

Keep in mind that if you check out some of these "travel insurance" plans, you have to get the full plan and not just the medical plan. Usually the medical-only plan only covers US citizens traveling outside the US.

[trailfinder]

Call customer service at your HMO, because the plan should cover you regardless of where you are. Like gsingjane said in her response - should cover you while you are on vacation. Make sure that your definition of vacation is the same as the HMO, e.g. HMO may actual define vacation in terms of number of days. Many BCBS plans have temporary health insurance coverage. Also, you can call a local agent to get his advice.

Take care,