A B.C. woman, who was on vacation in Florida, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer during her trip.
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 USD $108k hospital bill months later.
She thought she was covered by her health insurance, but as Anne Drewa reports, it turns out she didn’t read the fine print.
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US Hospital is a luxury. Sorry that happened to you.
Her story doesn’t add up, she knew she wasn’t covered and now playing the shock game. I’m sad for her cancer diagnosis and who cares about the medical bills if she’s going to die anyway.
Omgeee a bag of saline is 50 dollars—-RIP OFF😂😂😂
Dislike Health Travel Ins you have to prove why u don't need it to get it!!The things you need covered are denied to be covered so why bother paying a fortune for it?!!!
That’s why I never travel to the US.
Welcome to the USA.
I feel bad for the lady but she clearly said that she started to feel unwell before even going. If it were me I’d wait until I felt extremely good. I myself do plan on travelling out of the country. I’m gonna get a lawyer to go over health insurance to make sure I’m actually covered before taking off. I heard many stories like this before.
Honestly, what is the F’ing point of insurance?
Remember, while in the States, you received a diagnosis that you did not get back home. Hopefully, your insurance will cover your Florida bills.
This is the kind of healthcare the Conservatives are pushing for. For profit Healthcare.
Luigi
Don't travel to the US. Problem solved. Let this be a lesson to all of us.
You dont development ovarian cancer overnight or in a few days… Her doctor back home failed her in diagnosing her "flu like" symptoms.
So i take it as she knows she had cancer and she was trying to scam the insurance company by skipping the BC public health line up line up crisis, or its her doctor with gross negligence and failed to diagnose she had cancer.
Poor woman that’s dreadful 😢
Just refuse to pay the bill and do not return to the states.
What the F#@k is a "Stability" clause?!?!?
Sorry. No sympathy here. Do not travel to the United States for anything you wanna go on a holiday stay in Canada.
So, if an agent tells you on the phone you're covered, keep researching for the truth.
In the US, the initial charges are not what anyone pays, including the insurance company. If the insurance refusal to pay holds, contact the hospital and negotiate a "self pay" amount. It can often save you as much as 75%.
Deny delay depose.
No travel insurance will cover pre existing conditions.
As a US citizen, I feel bad for you. I hope your insurance does the right thing and covers you. Nobody in the US understands their medical plan , and just like you our insurance companies often deny things automatically the first time they are filed. The agent you talked to didn't know, your doctor did not tell you of an unstable condition did he? So you can't leave your country if you think you have a cold? I'm sure if you knew you had cancer you would not have left on the trip. For common sense sake cover her bill !!!
Just don’t travel to the US!
Thank you for sharing your story and I hope everything will turn out in your favor… My prayers with you 🙏
I hope the snowbirds heed the advice from this unfortunate lady , if you ever feel sick in the USA anywhere you are the best cheaper way is to come home , because you will regret going to an American hospital even if you have insurance they will find the tiny disclaimer to denied you services unless you have credit card travel insurance , just stay home or go to another warmer country for the time the winter last in white bear’s country True North Canada
In the United States insurance companies can’t deny for pre existing conditions since 2009. There’s no “stability” clause here. Why would you buy health insurance if you get free healthcare in Canada? So you don’t really get free healthcare, you get crap, you buy supplemental insurance which is crap, come to the U.S. and get the best care in the world, and the hospital comes off the bad guy? Ok. Your system sucks
Why would you go out of the country on a vacation if you are not feeling well??! Also, when she started getting sick in the U.S., why didn’t she go home??!
Just another reason to avoid The US
I had an accident [fall] on the very first day of my vacation in Edinburgh and broke my femur at the trochanter. Four days at the Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh including a full surgery came to $23,000 CDN. Emergency care was free and I walked out with a free pair of crutches ! The food was awful but level of care and communciation was first class. Not heard anything about the medical insurance coverage as yet, but for the very first time thankfully I had travel insurance coverage as I had to cancel 5 flights with accomodation and that process is hopefully now complete. I have no idea how much of my losses will be covered. I was supposed to go to Lisbon, Prague and Oslo and then fly back via Keflavik to Vancouver and away for 26 days. I got my insurances via BCAA and Global Excel Management Inc based out of Windsor at a cost of approx $330CDN. As of my last conversation on the phone GEM have everything they need to process the claims, they HAVE said this on the phone before, only to have an email appear a few days later requiring more documentation. The customer service dept don't make the decisions about coverage obviously, but there is a disconnect between the departments involved.
I’m lucky born in Taiwan cause medical system is very great and cheap.
If you have it, they will take it.
I was born in the USA 65 years ago. Don't come here. This country is nothing but greed. I myself have left. It's so disgusting what happened to this woman, but this is happening to US citizens every day. People going bankrupt because of health bills. It makes me sick.
Travel health insurance is a scam . They never ever cover anything
This is what happens when the healthcare system fails in Canada. Canada seems to hire incompetent doctors who can't even diagnose ovarian cancer. How stupid is that? I feel for this woman.
At least she got decent healthcare. Worth every penny. Canada's doctors would not have caught it.
I understand she had an underlying condition. This was not specified at the beginning of this report. This information changes the dynamic of the responsibility.
An Australian woman came to Canada who was already 8 months pregnant. Her insurance over the phone in Australia told her she was 100% covered if she gave birth in Canada. She gave birth in Canada and the bill was a little over a $1 Million. She phoned the insurance again and they said it was not in writing, so she was on her own.
Do NOT jump to the conclusion that Canadian doctors have failed to diagnose her with ovarian cancer. All she did was to take a simple blood test prior to her trip. There exists no miracle technology that sinlge blood test could detect/ diagnose someone with cancer. There are average 4,000 women a year with ovarian cancer diagnosed in Canada by Canadian doctors. If she stayed in Canada instead of travelling to the US and visited ER here in Canada, one ultrasound check would be able to reveal her ovarian cancer easily.
I had shortness of breath one night, visited ER, saw a doctor and did a test right there. Then referred to special cardiologist and did ECO test and had Halt monitor on my chest for 3 days. I was 100% clear and all of these cost me $0. It'd run at least $3,000 to $5,000 easily if I were in Boston. Now Canada supports free dental care as well. It's just crazy if you really think about how it's even possible because I've lived in a few different places, and Canada is the only country that has free health care including "free dental care". CRAZY.
Evil insurance companies
An insurance company would only pay 1/10 of that amount so don’t pay it. $18 for a 5mg oxycodone 😂
SO, DID SHE STIFF THE US FOR THE BILL?
So by going to her canadian doctor and getting a blood test, that made it a "pre-existing condition" that falls under the stability rules? Had she not gone to her doctor before she left, she'd have been covered? lol.
Usa with money! It is terrible
Our country sucks.
When in doubt, refuse to be hospitalized in the US unless it is a life and death situation.
Fans of any school are gonna watch their team whether they're in a conference or not.
The title for this video is misleading… she didn't have "travel insurance". She used her main employer-provided health insurance, which covered her for health issues during the trip. Even with my own expensive PPO health insurance, it doesn't cover everything on a trip, so it's always a good idea to invest in actual travel insurance. It is always good practice to read the fine print of any contract, which most of us don't do. Based on my experience, the insurance company will do everything it can NOT to pay out.
Insurance PROVIDER??? NO!!! The PROVIDERS are the MEDICAL PEOPLE! Isn’t CANADA COVERING her???
HOW much would Canada charge an AMERICAN for the SAME services???????
Florida 😂