Decompression insurance

[Caryn]

I'm not questioning that DAN is a great service. But as far as covering a decompression chamber, I checked with my HMO, and I was told the deco chamber is covered. (I checked with a supervisor to be sure.) They said any medical treatment is covered if its required emergency treatment. Now, I guess their definition of "required" could vary in some circumstances, but probably not, if its really needed.

Anything anyone else could contribute to tell me otherwise? Because so far I've been relying on this.

 

[diveborg]

I have to ask, does your HMO cover you when you are out of the US? DAN's coverage is world wide.

 

[Caryn]

Yes, it does. It covers me worldwide for any emergency. Although it won't necessarily fly me home unless they deem it to be required.

I've had various other health insurances in the past, and my experience with all of them has been the same (HMO & PPO). However, I've always worked for at least medium-sized company's or government. Possibly small company's insurance is not as good...

I have to ask, does your HMO cover you when you are out of the US? DAN's coverage is world wide.

 

[Christi]

I'm not questioning that DAN is a great service. But as far as covering a decompression chamber, I checked with my HMO, and I was told the deco chamber is covered. (I checked with a supervisor to be sure.) They said any medical treatment is covered if its required emergency treatment. Now, I guess their definition of "required" could vary in some circumstances, but probably not, if its really needed.

Anything anyone else could contribute to tell me otherwise? Because so far I've been relying on this.

Even with primary health insurance, DAN (and the others) pick up as secondary, so you are totally covered. I don't know any HMO that will cover anything 100% anymore.

Furthermore, if you DO have to be air evacuated, which is necessary in some dive destinations, DAN has thei own facilities and own helicopters/low flying planes that will act immediately without waiting for verification of your coverage.

I guess I just have a very hard time when people don't want to spend the extra money, which is nominal (less than $100 per year) to be assured that they are covered for something that could ultimately be life threatening, but they will spend thousands on equipment and dive trips.

Just my 2 pesos

 

[damsel]

Your HMO might have worldwide coverage, but you'll likely have to go through a long and unpleasant process to get the billing sorted out. Fortunately I've not ever had call to use my DAN insurance, but I've seen doctors before while away on holiday and have had to cover everything out-of-pocket. They definitely wouldn't accept my out-of-country insurance at the time, and my provider refused to pick up the tab afterward when I submitted a claims form. I don't know the particulars on paying for chamber services - whether they just bill you, whether they require some sort of payment or deposit on the spot, or what (I seem to remember hearing that they do require some form of payment) - but having DAN certainly can't hurt, and if you ever (heaven forfend) did need extensive treatment or longterm therapy, you might find that your HMO's coverage has a price cap.

 

[alemaozinho]

I'm not questioning that DAN is a great service. But as far as covering a decompression chamber, I checked with my HMO, and I was told the deco chamber is covered. (I checked with a supervisor to be sure.) They said any medical treatment is covered if its required emergency treatment. Now, I guess their definition of "required" could vary in some circumstances, but probably not, if its really needed.

Anything anyone else could contribute to tell me otherwise? Because so far I've been relying on this.

I like Divers Alert Network!
DAN not only covers your butt ,but has the best trained people and (best worldwide) coverage for diving emergencies and at last you can,t be sure that some egyptian medic in sharm el sheik or a medicine man in Botswana knows what HMO is and stands for,could lead to financial problems,i guess its also depend how far you want to travel for your diving...peace

 

[Texas Diver]

Why take a chance on your health care insurance? Why not just pay the $50 bucks a year for a Diver Protection Program and forget about it?

This is off the topic but HMOs scare the hell out of me. I do not like the thought of a "gatekeeper" between me and the care of a specialist.

 

[Tim Ingersoll]

Unfortunately I can tell you from personal experience that you have to pay up front for chamber services no matter what the insurance. This is because your health insurance carrier will not pay third party out of country providers for emergency services. You pay for it and then they pay you back. DAN is secondary insurance unless you don't have primary in which case they become primary. The chamber in Cozumel has been burned by divers quite a few times so they require an open credit card voucher in order to secure payment. Even that is a risk since divers have gone home, cancelled the credit card, and kept the insurance check when it arrived. Don't be surprised if they hit your credit card. They didn't hit mine but I am an attorney and they new if I pulled the fraud move they could report me and my license could get yanked.

 

[pedersenkj]

Tim's right...you need to be prepared to provide a credit card or cash for any type of medical treatment when you are out of the US and then file a claim with your insurance carrier for reimbursement. (In my "former life" as a human resource executive for a large worldwide corporation I researched HMO and PPO coverage for med evac and chamber treatment as well as the follow-up claims process for several different types of US based medical plans and providers...yep, we're covered.) However, we still opted to purchase DAN insurance because "being covered" is just one aspect. If a diving emergency occurs, time is critical. We want to be treated by DAN doctors at the DAN chamber who have immediate access to DAN's vast medical resources 24/7 and who can arrange for evacuation immediately if necessary without having to hassle with any verification of other types of med evac insurance or credit card limits.

A bit off topic but still related...we've had excellent service from the doctors (very competent & bilingual) at the DAN Clinic/Chamber on Cozumel. It is on Calle 5 about 1/2 block inland from Melgar, the oceanfront road. We're part-time residents and they've treated three of our family members for various things as well as provided consultations for diving and non-diving health concerns. Many folks don't know they can go to the DAN clinic for any type of medical treatment (not just diving related). It is also interesting for new divers to stop by and if they are not busy, the staff is very willing to show you the chamber and explain treatments. ~~Karen

 

[Caryn]

I don't mind having to give a credit card to cover services, and I don't mind having to wait for reimbursement from insurance, and I don't even mind if I would have to pay some out of pocket myself. Money is not the issue to me.

However, I didn't know DAN has its own staff and facilities. Are the non-DAN facilities no good? Is DAN that much better? So if we have a problem, can we use DAN staff & facilities, and just pay cash? I don't care about cost or method of payment, but I do care about quality of care!