If an American citizen becomes seriously ill or injured abroad, a U. S. consular officer can assist in locating appropriate medical services and informing family or friends. If necessary, a consular officer can also assist in the transfer of funds from the United States. However, payment of hospital and other expenses is the responsibility of the traveler. Before going abroad, learn what medical services your health insurance will cover overseas. If your health insurance policy provides coverage outside the United States, REMEMBER to carry both your insurance policy identity card as proof of such insurance and a claim form. Although many health insurance companies will pay "customary and reasonable" hospital costs abroad, very few will pay for your medical evacuation back to the United States. Medical evacuation can easily cost $10,000 and up, depending on your location and medical condition. THE SOCIAL SECURITY MEDICARE PROGRAM DOES NOT PROVIDE COVERAGE FOR HOSPITAL OR MEDICAL COSTS OUTSIDE THE U.S.A. Senior citizens may wish to contact the American Association of Retired Persons for information about foreign medical care coverage with Medicare supplement plans. To facilitate identification in case of an accident, complete the information page on the inside of your passport providing the name, address and telephone number of someone to be contacted in an emergency. A traveler going abroad with any preexisting medical problems should carry a letter from the attending physician, describing the medical condition and any prescription medications, including the generic name of prescribed drugs. Any medications being carried overseas should be left in their original containers and be clearly labeled. Travelers should check with the foreign embassy of the country they are visiting to make sure any required medications are not considered to be illegal narcotics. A listing of addresses and telephone numbers of U.S. embassies and consulates abroad is contained in Key Officers of Foreign Service Posts. This publication may be obtained through the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402. Also available from the Government Printing Office is Health Information for International Travel by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This contains a global rundown of disease and immunization advice and other health guidance, including risks in particular countries. The CDC maintains the international travelers hotline at 1-877-FYI-TRIP (1-877-394-8747), an automated faxback service at 1-888-CDC-FAXX (1-888-232-3299) and a home page on the Internet at http://www.cdc.gov. For information about outbreaks of infectious diseases abroad, consult the World Health Organizations (WHO) web site at http://www.who.int/en. The WHO also provides travel health information at http://www.who.int/ith. For detailed information on physicians abroad, the authoritative reference is The Official ABMS Directory of Board Certified Medical Specialists published for the American Board of Medical Specialists and its certifying member boards. This publication should be available in your local library. U.S. embassies and consulates abroad maintain lists of hospitals and physicians. Major credit card companies also can provide the names of local doctors and hospitals abroad. Some countries require foreign visitors to have inoculations or medical tests before entering. Before traveling, check the latest entry requirements with the foreign embassy of the country to be visited. Click here for Emergency Information Click here for lists of Doctors/Hospitals abroad. Click here for the SARS Notice. Click here for the Avian Flu Fact Sheet. Click here for Foot and Mouth Disease Fact Sheet Click here for the Chemical/Biological Agents Fact Sheet Click here for information on Responding to Radiological and Nuclear Incidents. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - General Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - Traveler's Health World Health Organization Several private organizations will provide medical information and insurance for overseas travelers. Most charge a fee for this service. The following is provided FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY and in no way constitutes an endorsement, expressed or implied, by the Department of State. AIR AMBULANCE / MED-EVAC U.S.-based Companies ABLE JET Fort Pierce, FL 800-225-3538 ACADIAN AMBULANCE & AIR MED SERVICE, INC. Lafayette, LA 800-259-3333 ADVANCED AIR AMBULANCE Miami, FL 800-633-3590 / 305-232-7700 AAA - AIR AMBULANCE AMERICA Austin, TX 800-222-3564 / 512-479-8000 AIRMD AIR AMBULANCE SERVICES Clearwater, FL 800-282-6878 / 1-727-530-7972 AIR AMBULANCE NETWORK Sarasota, FL 800-327-1966 AIR AMBULANCE PROFESSIONALS Fort Lauderdale, FL 800-752-4195 / 954-491-0555 AirEvac Phoenix, AZ 800-421-6111 AIR MEDIC - AIR AMBULANCE OF AMERICA Washington, PA 800-245-9987 AIRescue INTERNATIONAL Van Nuys, CA 800-922-4911 / 818-994-0911 AIR RESPONSE Orlando, FL 800-631-6565 / 303-858-9967 AIR STAR INTERNATIONAL Thermal, CA 877-570-0911 / 800-991-2869 e-mail: AirStar1@aol.com AMERICAN CARE, INC. San Diego, CA 800-941-2582 / 619-486-8844 AMERICAN JET AIR MEDICAL Houston, TX 888-I-FLY-AJI / 713-641-9700 CRITICAL AIR MEDICINE San Diego, CA 800-247-8326 / 619-571-0482 CRITICAL CARE MEDFLIGHT Lawrenceville, GA 800-426-6557 GLOBAL CARE / MEDPASS Alpharetta, GA 800-860-1111 INFLIGHT MEDICAL SERVICES INTERNATIONAL INC. Naples, FL 800-432-4177 / 941-594-0800 INTERNATIONAL SOS ASSISTANCE Philadelphia, PA 800-523-8930 / 215-244-1500 Also provides travel insurance services. LifeFlight New Orleans New Orleans, LA 800-942-0455 / 504-243-9800 e-mail: Info@NewOrleansJets.com LIFE GUARD INTERNATIONAL, INC. Las Vegas, NV 866-SKY-LIFE (866-759-5433) e-mail: lifeguardinternational@msn.com MedAire Tempe, AZ 480-333-3700 e-mail: info@medaire.com MED ESCORT INTERNATIONAL INC. Allentown, PA 800-255-7182 / 610-791-3111 MEDEX ASSISTANCE CORPORATION Baltimore, MD 888-MEDEX-00 / 800-537-2029 Also provides travel insurance services. MEDJET ASSISTANCE Birmingham, AL 1-800-963-3538 MEDJET INTERNATIONAL, INC. Birmingham, AL 800-356-2161 / 205-592-4460 MEDWAY AIR AMBULANCE Lawrenceville, GA 800-233-0655 MERCY MEDICAL AIRLIFT Manassas, VA 800-296-1217 (Service area: Caribbean and part of Canada only. If necessary, will meet commercial incoming patients at JFK, Miami and other airports.) NATIONAL AIR AMBULANCE Ft. Lauderdale, FL 800-327-3710 / 305-525-5538 SMARTRAVEL Alexandria, VA 800-730-3170 / 703-379-8645 Provides a range of travel medicine services. TRAVEL CARE INTERNATIONAL, INC. Eagle River, WI 800-524-7633 / 715-479-8881 TRAVELERS EMERGENCY NETWORK Tierra Verde, FL 800-ASK-4-TEN e-mail: ten@intrex.net Foreign-based Companies AEA INTERNATIONAL Singapore U.S. Phone: 800-468-5232 Service worldwide, also provides travel insurance services AUSTRIAN AIR AMBULANCE Vienna, Austria 43-1-40-144 EURO-FLITE LTD. Helsinki International Airport Vantaa, Finland 358-9-870-2544 EUROPASSISTANCE Johannesburg, South Africa 27-11-315-3999 GERMAN AIR RESCUE (DRF) Filderstadt, Germany 49-0711-7007-0 e-mail: alarmzentrale@drf.de MEDIC'AIR Paris, France 331-41-72-14-14 LUXEMBOURG AIR RESCUE Luxembourg 352-420-440-1 e-mail: office@air-rescue.lu TYROL AIR AMBULANCE Innsbruck, Austria 43-512-22422 TRAVEL INSURANCE COMPANIES U.S.-based Companies ACCESS AMERICA, INC. Richmond, VA 866-807-3982 AIGAssist American International Group, Inc. New York, NY 800-382-6986 ASA, INC. International Health Insurance Phoenix, AZ 888-ASA-8288 AXA ASSISTANCE Bethesda, MD 301-214-8200 CLEMENTS INTERNATIONAL Washington, DC 800-872-0067 / 202-872-0060 http://www.clements.com e-mail: info@clements.com CSA TRAVEL PROTECTION San Diego, CA 888-873-5484 http://www.csatravelprotection.com GATEWAY Seabury & Smith Washington, DC 800-282-4495 / 202-457-7707 e-mail: gateway.dc@seabury.com HEALTH CARE GLOBAL (also known as MEDHELP or WALLACH & COMPANY or HEALTHCARE ABROAD) Middleburg, VA 800-237-6615 / 540-687-3166 HIGHWAY TO HEALTH Fairfax, VA 703-322-1515 (Also provides destination-based travel health information for cities worldwide.) INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL GROUP (IMG) Indianapolis, IN 800-628-4664 / 317-655-4500 MultiNational Underwriters, Inc. Indianapolis, IN 800-605-2282 e-mail: insurance@mnui.com MUTUAL OF OMAHA Tele-Trip Company Omaha, NE 800-228-9792 PETERSEN INTERNATIONAL UNDERWRITERS, INC. Valencia, CA 800-345-8816 e-mail: piu@piu.org TRAVELEX Omaha, NE 800-228-9792 TRAVEL GUARD Stevens Point, WI 800-826-1300/715-345-0505 TRAVEL BCISURED INTERNATIONAL E. Hartford, CT 800-243-3174 TRAVEL INSURANCE SERVICES InterMedical Division Walnut Creek, CA 800-937-1387/925-932-1387 TRIPGUARD PLUS Northridge, CA 800-423-3632 UNICARD TRAVEL ASSOCIATION Overland Park, KS 800-501-0352 UNIVERSAL SERVICE AND ASSISTANCE Alexandria, VA 800-770-9111 / 703-370-7800 WORLDWIDE ASSISTANCE Washington, DC 800-777-8710 ext. 417 Foreign-based Companies INTEGRA GLOBAL Hallein , Austria 43-6245-71303 e-mail: info@integraglobal.com EXECUTIVE MEDICAL SERVICES AMERICAN MEDICAL CENTERS Moscow, Russia Offices in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kiev, Prague, Warsaw, Istanbul (7-095) 933-77-00 (Moscow) HEALTH QUEST TRAVEL INC. Wexford, PA 888-899-3633 e-mail: HQT@HealthQuestTravel.com WORLD CLINIC Burlington, MA 800-636-9186 |