Best health insurance for visitors to USA with pre-existing conditions

Travel insurance is coverage only for unexpected medical expenses while you are on a trip away from home. Some companies offer coverage for what they call "acute onset" of a pre-existing condition (excluding chronic or congenital disorders). This would be a life or life-style threatening situation that cannot wait to be taken care of when the trip is over.

It must be "acute" meaning that it came on suddenly and needs to be taken care of quickly (defined as within 24 hours of symptom onset). A "pre-existing condition" does not necessarily have to have been previously diagnosed. If it is reasonable to assume that this condition started in the patient before the start date of the insurance, then it will be considered pre-existing to the policy. Note that the exclusion for chronic (conditions that worsen over time) and congenital (conditions a person is born with) limit greatly the application of this exception.

If Asthma is not considered chronic, then an emergency due to Asthma could be covered by a policy which covers at least "acute onset" of pre-existing conditions. If a person requires regular medication and/or doctor visits for their asthma, this will NOT be covered and will have to be paid by the insured completely out of pocket.

Note that in the US, the same medications can differ widely in costs depending on the pharmacy you use and some medications (generally generics) for common illnesses can be purchased for $40 per month at the Walmart pharmacy (although there may be long wait times). Also, some drug companies have special "coupons" available online for some of their drugs. There are often "discount cards" available at pharmacies and other stores for prescriptions that are free to use.

These are all resources your visitor can use to avoid paying full price for costly required medications should they run out while they are in the US. Other countries may not require a prescription and may not be as costly to obtain. Having a prescription with you, however, may be a good idea to ease getting the medication and show authorities you are allowed to have it (in the case of regulated substances which can vary country to country).

No. When you purchase any of our travel insurance plans, they offer guaranteed coverage with no medical questions. However, be aware that they all exclude pre-existing medical conditions. So, please take any medications you use regularly or for flare ups of your conditions since these will not be covered by travel insurance. As far as I know, Arthritis cannot lead to a life-threatening situation, so will be excluded from coverage by short-term travel policies.

If you are a frequent traveler and want major medical coverage in any country to which you travel, you can opt for global medical policies which will (after the first year, generally) cover all aspects of health costs.
You can Compare and buy Global health insurance policies. To apply for these policies, you will have to reveal your entire medical history and you are not guaranteed coverage.

The application must go through underwriting and you can be approved, rejected, or approved with exclusions. In any case, you can opt out of the policy 10 days from your approval for no cost to you or simply reject the exclusions they require on the policy. Note that these policies are best for people who want health insurance for a whole year, or better, longer.

Once you are approved on the plan, you are guaranteed coverage year after year and the price is determined by your age group, not your individual medical history. So, in the case of a global medical insurance application, you would have to declare your Arthritis on the application and you may or may not be covered for that illness by the policy they offer you.

Absolutely, yes! Travel insurance is meant to cover you in the unlikely event of a sudden illness or accident while you are on your trip. Even if you have a pre-existing condition that complicates treatment, that is not relevant to the coverage for an unexpected illness or injury.

Naturally, your pre-existing conditions themselves are excluded from coverage, so you should pack as much medication as you will comfortably need for your trip.

Yes. Any medical condition you have been diagnosed with or are being treated for will be considered pre-existing to a new travel policy. If you take regular medication for your condition, this will not be covered by the policy. However, should you, for example, have an accident and break a bone, this would be covered even if your condition may have made you a little more vulnerable to the break (unless you were being particularly reckless).

Accidents are generally always covered (car accidents are more complicated because if you were not at fault, the driver's insurance may cover part of your injuries) unless caused by intoxication. So, even if you have OsteoArthritis or some other pre-existing condition, you are still eligible for coverage by a travel insurance policy which will protect you from sudden illness or accident/injury while you are on your trip.

This is a tough question. And, unfortunately, the answer depends on where you are traveling to and from.
For people that are traveling to the US from abroad:
As a broker, I am not a medical professional, so I can only tell you this from the insurance side of the question. Generally speaking, the most common cause for heart attack as I understand it is due to plaque build up in the person's arteries.

Since that build up happens slowly, over time, I think it's fair to say that it would NOT be covered by any travel health insurance. This is because travel health insurance excludes pre-existing conditions from any coverage (even emergency coverage if they are chronic or congenital). So the answer for the common cause of heart attacks is NO. So, foreigners run a risk (hopefully a small one) when traveling here.

Health insurance can still help with costs of accidents and other unexpected illnesses while on vacation. However, the answer is be different for people who are US residents traveling abroad. US residents can purchase trip cancellation plans and some of those waive the pre-existing condition exclusion IF you purchase them within a short time of your initial trip deposit (that is the earliest date you pay for any portion of your trip).

Check out trip cancellation plans. Notably, the GeoBlue student and travel plans also waive the pre-existing condition exclusion for people who had creditable prior insurance coverage, and these plans are only available to US residents with US domestic coverage. And, for travel plans for US residents going abroad, some, like the Safe Travels Outbound plans, will cover pre-existing conditions IF they have been stable in the last 6 months (meaning there have been no changes, episodes, or changes to medication in that time frame). You can Compare Safe Travels Outbound Insurance plans.

No. Travel health insurance is meant to cover a sudden illness or accident, such as you get a stomach flu or you twist or break your ankle. Since Arthritis is not a life-threatening illness, it will not be covered by a short-term travel plan. Should you require regular medications or ointments, you should bring them or purchase ointments available in the visiting country for your condition.

Some countries may not require prescriptions to purchase medications. However, you should be cautious in using a new medication since there may be side-effects of concern. You may want to stick to what you know or consult with your own physician if you can.

Yes, INF is one company that offers travel insurance for pre-existing conditions. Some other US travel insurance providers offer travel insurance for acute onset of an pre-existing ailment. The INF Elite and INF Premier travel plans provides greater flexibility for coverage of pre-existing conditions.

The following travel insurance plans cover acute onset of pre-existing conditions:

1. Atlas travel plan from World trips
2. Visitors Protect plan from IMG
3. Patriot America Plus plan from IMG
4. Travel Medical Choice plan from Seven Corners
5. Travel Medical Basic plan from Seven Corners
6. Safe Travels USA plan from Trawick International
7. Safe Travels USA Comprehensive plan from Trawick International
8. Safe Travels Elite plan from Trawick International
9. INF Premier plan from INF
10. INF Elite plan from INF
11. INF Elite Plus plan from INF
12. INF Elite 90 plan from INF
13. VisitorSecure Insurance plan from World trips

A pre-existing condition is an existing condition/illness that exists at the time of application of the travel insurance, whether or not it has been treated and diagnosed or disclosed to the company, and any of or all of the subsequent complications or consequences related to or resulting from the ailment.

Mental and Nervous disorders, maternity and newborn care, preventive care, chronic illness which cannot be cured, for instance, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease, pre-existing conditions except for sudden recurrence of the pre-existing conditions are some of the medical conditions that the travel insurance completely excludes from coverage.

Travel Insurance plans do not specify anything about the waiting period, but some plans have a look back period for coverage for pre-existing conditions. Most travel insurance plans only cover the acute onset of pre-existing conditions with INF being the exception which offers coverage for Pre-existing conditions up to the defined limit with their INF Premier and INF Elite travel insurance plans.

US Student medical insurance plans which are useful for international students coming to the US for higher studies however do provide a waiting period of 6 months to one year which varies from one plan to another.

Travel Insurance plans provide coverage for unexpected sickness and injury. They provide benefits to cover emergency medical evacuation and repatriation. Apart from this, they provide coverage for the acute onset of pre-existing conditions. If there is a medical condition that you do not need any coverage for, then yes, you can still purchase travel insurance for unexpected medical accidents which might result in a highly expensive claim expense.

US short term travel insurance plans are bought online by filling out the travel insurance application form provided by the insurance company. In the insurance company application form, there are no specific questions about the pre-existing condition the customer might have.

However, on American Visitor Insurance on the form to travel insurance quotes, we ask the customer to fill in the requirement details including if coverage for pre-existing conditions is needed. This helps us display the plans with the best coverage for pre-existing conditions or for acute onset of pre-existing conditions. The available travel insurance plans can also be filtered depending on the pre-existing condition coverage requirement.

This way it is easier for the customer to view the plans that provide good pre-existing condition coverage. In conclusion, the customer does not have a way to disclose what pre-existing condition they have in the application form. Again only INF insurance offers coverage for pre-existing conditions while other providers only offer acute onset of pre-existing condition coverage, and they will not be covered for the pre-existing condition unless the incident is reported by the doctor as a acute onset of a pre-existing condition.

The following is the visitors insurance pre-existing conditions coverage buy different US travel insurance providers:
INF Plans. These plans offer full Pre-existing conditions up to the pre-existing conditions coverage limit in the policy:

• INF Elite Insurance comprehensive plans offers full pre-existing conditions up to 99 years. There is a minimum purchase of 90 days required on this plan.
• INF Premier Insurance is fixed or scheduled benefit plan which offers full pre-existing conditions up to 99 years. There is a minimum purchase of 90 days is required on this plan.
• INF Premier Plus Insurance is fixed or scheduled benefit plan which offers full pre-existing conditions up to 65 years. There is a minimum purchase of 90 days is required on this plan.

International Medical Group - IMG offers both full Pre-existing and Acute onset of Pre-existing condition coverage :

• Patriot America plus insurance covers acute on set of pre-existing conditions up to chosen maximum limit aged up to 70 years.
• Visitors Protect is a comprehensive visitor medical insurance offers Pre-existing conditions up to age 99 years. A minimum purchase of 90 days is required on this plan.

WorldTrips offers acute onset of Pre-existing conditions:

• Atlas America Insurance is a comprehensive visitor insurance that offers acute on set of pre-existing conditions aged up to age 79 years. (Excludes chronic condition or congenital condition)
• Visitor Secure is a fixed benefit plan that offers acute on set of pre-existing conditions aged up to age 79 years. (Excludes chronic condition or congenital condition)

Trawick International offers Acute onset of Pre-existing conditions and sudden, unexpected recurrence of a Pre-existing Conditions:

• Safe Travels USA travel medical insurance plan that covers sudden, unexpected recurrence of a Pre-existing Condition for Non-US Citizens and Non-US Residents while visiting the USA up to 89 years.
• Safe Travels USA Comprehensive plan covers acute on set of pre-existing conditions up to 89 years. For persons under 70 covers medical treatment to policy maximum (cardiac-related treatment up to $25,000). For persons above 70 Acute Onset benefits is reduced to a maximum of $35,000 (cardiac-related treatment up to $15,000).

Seven Corners offers acute onset of Pre-existing conditions:

• Travel Medical Insurance comprehensive plans offers Acute on set of pre-existing conditions up to 79 years.
• Travel Medical USA Visitor plans fixed plans offers Acute on set of pre-existing conditions up to 79 years.

The look-back period in visitors medical insurance is considered as an important factor in determining eligibility for coverage. It is the timeframe before the policy’s start date during which the insurer reviews your medical history to determine conditions that may be considered as pre-existing.

Chronic conditions like diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, pregnancy, and cancer are usually considered as pre-existing conditions, even if they occur outside the look back period. These conditions require ongoing care, indicating they existed before the policy's effective date.

Usually the look back period ranges between 60 to 180 days to 1 to 3 years depending upon on the plan or the insurance provider. If a medical condition is treated or the symptoms is identified in that timeframe then it is considered as a pre-existing medical conditions.

No, typically, you must not receive any treatment or medication for the pre-existing condition during the Lookback period to be eligible for coverage under the policy.

Yes, there is typically an age limit for purchasing visitors travel insurance for acute onset of pre-existing conditions. The age limit varies depending on the policy.

• inf plans offers Full Pre-existing conditions up to 99 years.
• Seven Corners and WorldTrips offers Acute on set of Pre-existing up to 79 years.
• Trawick-International plans offers Acute on set and sudden and unexpected pre-existing conditions up to 89 years.
• IMG Visitor Protect offers Pre-existing conditions up to 99 years and Patriot America Plus offers Acute on set of Pre-existing up to 70 years.

Simply put, a pre-existing condition is a disease or condition a person is already diagnosed with, being treated for, or has, with reasonable certainty before the start of the insurance policy. Companies use a "look back" period to determine if a condition will be considered pre-existing or not. Click here to read more.

No, there are no medical tests required for purchasing visitor health insurance for us visitors with pre-existing conditions.

The short term visitor insurance plans usually do not cover pre-existing medical conditions, however some plans do provide limited coverage for acute onset of pre-existing conditions. You can compare the insurance plans that offer pre-existing condition coverage using our compare tool option.

Many people, although healthy and able to travel, particularly older travelers take medications for certain medical conditions. While these conditions can be called "normal" for a person of their age, not all people have these conditions and they will be classified as "pre-existing" by an insurance company. If you do NOT have coverage for it, then the policy will pay $0 for any incident of it, emergency or not. The coverage you can get is limited to "acute onset" of a pre-existing condition which can cover an unexpected life-threatening emergency of the condition which would then give you as complete coverage as you could get for your travels or visitor. This is why we offer some options with this coverage for nearly all ages of travelers. For more information, go here.

Each company uses a slightly different wording for their definition, but basically, I tell people this is what it means: A pre-existing condition is a medical condition that you have been diagnosed with, are being treated for, or had before the start of the policy with reasonable medical certainty. This definition is tricky because the insured doesn't need to know that they have a condition in order for it to be considered pre-existing. We had a client who was diagnosed with a chronic bladder infection. Since it was found to be chronic, it was determined that the infection must have already been present before the trip started. Unfortunately, that meant the client did not get any coverage for their medical expenses. Many policies require a paerson to be stable in their condition before they will cover it as a pre-existing condition anyway, so even a policy with a pre-existing condition clause like the ones I have described above, may exclude covering expenses in this particular example.

Some of the US visitor health insurance plans are designed to cover unexpected and new medical issues that occurs during your trip and do not include coverage for chronic illness or existing medical conditions. If the medical condition existed prior the start date of the policy, even if not diagnosed it may still be considered as a pre-existing condition and excluded from the coverage.However, some plans offer coverage for acute onset of pre-existing condition which would apply in the case of sudden worsening without warning. If the symptoms existed before the policy start date, the claim would be denied.

Yes, cancer is considered as existing condition for health insurance. For example if a person has been diagnosed with cancer, received treatment, or is currently under medication or follow-up treatment before the start date of the travel insurance policy, it will be considered as a pre-existing medical condition Most travel insurance plans do not cover pre-existing conditions, including cancer, unless the plan specifically includes coverage for it or offers benefits for the acute onset of pre-existing conditions. It is important for travelers with cancer to carefully review insurance plan and choose a travel health insurance for cancer patients to ensure their health needs are covered while abroad.

Yes, most visitor insurance plans offer acute onset of pre-existing up to the age of 69 to 70 years with limited coverage, some plans like Visitors protect, INF Premier X, INF Elite X insurance plans offers full pre-existing conditions up to the age of 99 years with higher premiums.

Elderly visitors tend to have chronic illness like diabetes, high blood pressure(hypertension), or heart disease. Without US visitor insurance for pre-existing conditions, any related medical emergencies during their stay in the U.S. could result in serious out-of-pocket expenses. Travel insurance to USA with pre existing conditions that offers coverage for older travelers by providing access to required medical care without financial strain.

Prescription drugs are normally covered only when prescribed during a covered illness or emergency while in the US. Routine, chronic maintenance medication or fill-in prescriptions of pre-existing drugs from home is usually not covered.