B.C. woman faces travel health insurance nightmare after shocking U.S. $108K hospital bill
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A B.C. woman is sharing her travel health insurance nightmare as a cautionary tale to warn others after a trip to the United States.
RoseAnne Timbrell ended up in a Florida hospital and thought she was fully covered by her extended health coverage through her employer. However, she received an unexpected hospital bill months later.
“Just absolutely shocking. I just wished I had got on the plane and come home,” Timbrell told Consumer Matters.
Back in February, Timbrell and her husband planned a trip to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. However, prior to her trip, Timbrell says she was experiencing flu-like symptoms.
“I work at a university, so we are around a lot of young people and everybody has colds and flus. Norwalk was roaming around, so I wasn’t feeling well before I went on vacation,” said Timbrell.
As a precaution, Timbrell says she consulted with her family doctor about her symptoms and had a blood test. At the time, Timbrell says there was no cause for alarm around her health. “I’m still able to go to work. So if I’m able to go to work, I think I’m able to go on this vacation,” she said.
Timbrell departed for Florida, but says her symptoms got worse when she arrived. She says she was experiencing severe stomach pain and went to visit an urgent care centre in Florida, where a physician recommended further screening.
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With her condition deteriorating, Timbrell says she decided to go to emergency, but before she went, she called her insurance provider to make sure her hospital visit would be covered.
“The agent said ‘Yes you are covered. When you go to the hospital, they are going to fax us something. They’re going to fax us something back and you do have extended health for out of country’ and I said ok because if not, I’m jumping on the next plane,” said Timbrell.
Timbrell arrived at the Florida hospital, where she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
“It was traumatizing. It’s not something you would ever think that would happen on vacation,” said Timbrell.
Timbrell spent five days in the Florida hospital undergoing further tests.
When she returned home, months later, she received more shocking news. Her insurance provider denied her claim, stating: “…expenses incurred at travel were directly related to your unstable pre-existing condition.”
There was also a stability clause within her policy, which means a pre-existing medical condition must remain stable for 90 days prior to traveling. Timbrell was hit with a medical bill of U.S. $108,000. “Absolutely shocking. I just wished I had gotten on the plane and come home instead of dealing with all that in the States,” said Timbrell.
Travel expert Claire Newell says Timbrell’s claim denial isn’t uncommon. She says stability clauses are often written in standard medical insurance policies and reading the fine print of any policy is crucial.
“A lot of people don’t realize there is a stability period. Some policies it’s three months. Others it can be as high as six months,” said Newell.
Newell says medical-related tests, treatments, even changes to your medication prior to your trip could impact your stability period and your coverage.
“There are always caveats in every single policy and every single policy is different so you need to be an advocate for your own self. If you have it [insurance] through work or you have it on your credit card, don’t think that it’s going to be enough because those ones often have the most caveats,” said Newell.
Timbrell says the remaining hospital bill has been negotiated down to U.S. $65,000, which she is struggling to pay.
“Really, talk to your insurance company. Understand your policy very, very, clearly because you are having to be your own best advocate,” said Timbrell.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help RoseAnne Timbrell.
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