Medicare part A and travel insurance

Hello,
My wife and I moved to UK 12 years ago and signed up for Medicare part A (hospital) when the time came. We did not sign up for Medicare part B (doctors) as the sum of the monthly premium would exceed the cost of travel insurance covering the infrequent individual trips.

We have now reached the age and condition where the cost quoted by the UK travel insurance companies is a major consideration on any trips to the US.

Does anyone know if any UK travel insurance companies acknowledge that Medicare part A relieves them of possible substantial coverage costs when quoting charges to cover a trip to the US?
Or maybe a US-based one willing to cover a UK resident?

Many thanks to the members of the Forum who have contributed their knowledge and experience over the years.

Terry
USC / UKC (Sept 2024)

I know exactly what you mean, we signed up for Part A as well but there is no recognition from UK travel insurance companies that if you have to go to a hospital while on a trip that Medicare will pay 80% of the cost.

Have you tried World Nomads?

https://www.worldnomads.com/uk/

We don’t travel to the US any more now that we are in our 70s, and we have no family left in the USA.

I have an appointment next week to speak with a representative of the entity that arranged my medi-gap coverage (pays anything Medicare doesn't). I'll try to remember to ask if there is a medi-gap plan that someone who does not reside in the USA, but who has Medicare "A", can buy. Mine has a high deductible, but is only $75 a month and covers emergency care overseas, so perhaps they might be able to recommend something. I'll post the response when I get it.

I have an appointment next week to speak with a representative of the entity that arranged my medi-gap coverage (pays anything Medicare doesn't). I'll try to remember to ask if there is a medi-gap plan that someone who does not reside in the USA, but who has Medicare "A", can buy. Mine has a high deductible, but is only $75 a month and covers emergency care overseas, so perhaps they might be able to recommend something. I'll post the response when I get it.

I’m sure that will be very useful information, thanks in advance.

So, I put this hypothetical question to the Via Benefits representative:  if I move overseas and drop Part B, or had been overseas for some time without Part B and without a Medigap, but plan to spend periods of time in the USA, is there a plan that I could buy that would allow me to use it as a Medigap (pays everything that Medicare Parts A & B don't cover) in conjunction with Part A? They said no, it would have to be travel insurance. They were unable to recommend any travel plans, as they only handled Medicare-related plans.

So, to the OP, even if you could use a Medigap plan, the cost of having to pay it every single month would probably exceed what a travel insurance policy will cost you.  It would be great if there was a travel insurance policy that recognized the Medicare Part A would cover 80% of your expenses (with some exceptions).

[Aside:  Definitely get some kind of coverage!  Looking at a hypothetical situation where something goes quite wrong - assume a hospital bill of $750,000 (on Medicare's fee schedule, which is what the hospital agrees to charge vs what they charge others without Medicare, and is usually lower). Part A would pick up $600,000 of that, after the $1,700 deductible. So you'd need coverage for the $150,000 + $1,700. I have looked at a few plans via Google and most of them say that the cost of the cover can be lowered by choosing a high deductible.   Note also that physicians' fees are usually covered under Part B while in the hospital and are billed separately from the facility. They get pricey fast. - https://www.aarp.org/medicare/faq/what-hospital-costs-are-covered-under-part-a/ (It's slightly out-of-date, but the concepts remain the same.)]

Sorry I can't give you better news or the name of an insurance company.