International Patients and Insurance

International Insurance Arrangements

For international patients, we have contracts with some major insurance companies that allow us to submit claims directly to the insurance company. Others may require that you pay the claim directly at the time of service and seek reimbursement from the insurance company when you return home.

International insurance can fall into one of several categories:

• Insurance for intended medical treatment
• Insurance for medical emergencies while traveling
• Insurance for routine or minor medical situations while traveling
• Special corporate arrangements with CIMA Hospital

Most people either rely on their primary health insurance or purchase trip-related accident and medical insurance. Whether you are traveling to obtain medical care or for pleasure, we encourage international travelers to contact your insurance company before you travel abroad to learn what conditions may apply.

In many cases, your primary insurance may only cover medical expenses outside your home country when you have an accident or have an unforeseen medical emergency. They often do not cover minor medical situations.  Other insurance plans, as noted above, require that you pay the bill to the hospital or provider and then seek reimbursement from the insurance company. In a medical emergency, these bills can grow quite large very quickly. Some insurance companies, particularly travel assistance companies and insurers, will offer a guarantee of payment to the hospital. This will help minimize the amount you have to pay immediately, but there can still be amounts you will need to pay before leaving the hospital.

Remember too, that your insurance company may have a deductible, co-payment or other amount that you are required to pay as part of receiving medical care. You may also have limitations on payment for certain kinds of services or out of network provisions that apply. Because we are outside of your home region as an international patient, it is difficult to know what those amounts are, so you may be required to pay an estimated amount that is greater than the actual amount for which your insurance company may ultimately decide you are responsible. You can work with your insurance company to be reimbursed for them under the terms of your insurance coverage; however, we ask that you understand those arrangements are outside our control.

Direct Employer/Company Contracts

We also have direct contracts with a growing number of companies based in the United States that enable their employees to receive medical care at Hospital CIMA and will pay the hospital directly for you. These arrangements are often simpler, more transparent and less expensive for you and your employer. For specific information, contact your employer or Hospital CIMA’s International Patient Office. For information about starting a direct contract, please contact us at dmair@hospitalcima.com.

International Insurance Companies

The table below shows some of the companies with which we work, but your specific terms and conditions may create a different situation. We recommend that you contact us to determine what type of arrangement exists between with your particular insurance company and the hospital.

Some insurance companies have established relationships with travel medical assistance companies. These companies provide services on behalf of your insurance company for you when something happens while you are traveling. Some of these companies also provide independent trip-related insurance for medical and related needs. In many cases, we are able to work with your travel medical assistance company on a direct basis to help manage the expenses associated with an unexpected hospital admission. Please let us know as soon as possible that you have benefits through a company that provides these benefits and services, so that we can determine the right arrangement for your situation.

Travel Medical Assistance Companies

The table below shows some of the travel medical assistance companies with which we work. It is not intended to be a complete list, and we are consistently updating it.  Consequently, the list is a guide but may not cover all companies or situations.

IMPORTANT NOTICE FOR US CITIZENS

Please be aware that Hospital CIMA does not accept Medicare or Medicaid as a form of insurance payment. In general, these plans do not provide any benefits for travelers outside the United States, even for emergency medical situations.  

We strongly encourage US citizens traveling abroad purchase travel medical insurance that covers the costs of medical care, both on a routine and an emergency basis, and that includes the costs of emergency medical evacuation. We hope that no one ever needs that insurance; however, we regularly see patients who are experiencing both the stress of an emergency medical situation and the discovery that their health insurance coverage is not as broad as they thought it was.