How One Traveler Saved $199,000 Using This Membership

How thoroughly have you read your travel insurance policy, if you purchased it in the midst of the pandemic?

It turns out that many travel insurance plans, as well as credit card insurance, only cover a portion of medical transportation. Your transportation to the nearest acceptable medical facility is usually covered, but if you want to fly to another hospital — say, one closer to home or one with a good reputation for a particular specialty — you’ll have to foot the bill.

That’s where an emergency medical transportation plan comes in, as Duffle and Compass travel advisor Carol Oken discovered when she was flown from Malawi, in southeast Africa, to Chicago for surgery. The medical transportation would have cost her nearly $200,000, but thanks to Medjet air medical transport coverage, her out-of-pocket costs were zero. Oken’s flight was the most expensive airlift Medjet has ever facilitated and paid for.

Medjet goes a (considerable) step beyond standard travel insurance; according to its website, “one in every 30 trips ends in a medical emergency,” and membership essentially gets travelers airlifted out of their destination and to a medical facility. Annual membership is available, but short-term membership for specific trips is also available.

“I fell in my room while staying at Kaya Mawa, a lovely property on an island in Lake Malawi. I fractured my hip and couldn’t stand or walk “ Oken explained. Oken was admitted to a hospital in Lilongwe, Malawi, but the facility was unable to perform the hip surgery she required.

Her Medjet coverage enabled an air ambulance to transport her from Lilongwe to Chicago, where she could see a specialist for the medical procedure. Oken has had short-term Medjet coverage at various points over the last 15 years as an African travel specialist.

“Medjet gathered a great deal of information from me and contacted my attending physician in Lilongwe. They also worked with my husband, who was in contact with an orthopedic trauma surgeon and the hospital in Chicago where I was scheduled to arrive “ Oken elaborated. “Medjet communicated with everyone once the evacuation plans were in place. The next day, I boarded an air ambulance with a doctor, a nurse, and two pilots and flew out of Lilongwe.”

The total cost of that transportation from bed to bed was $198,989, which was all covered by her membership. In comparison, an entry-level Medjet Assist membership, which includes all-expenses-paid medical air transport worldwide and allows members to choose their destination hospital, costs $99 for an eight-day plan. An annual subscription costs $295. There are no existing exclusions for members under the age of 75.

Medjet, like traditional travel insurance, offers a variety of membership plans that vary in terms of coverage type and duration of coverage; the idea is that Medjet supplements traditional travel insurance rather than replacing it. Medjet Horizon, the premium membership, includes access to a 24/7 security network that can help with evacuations for a variety of safety threats, including natural disasters.

“I’m the first to say it’s totally worth it after missing one step with a terrible result,” Oken said.

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