Vacation
Accident Leaves Couple Financially Devastated
September 25, 2007 - 10:42AM
September
25, 2007 - 10:42AM—
You're finally ready to go on
that vacation you've scrimped and saved for - but what if something
catastrophic happens? Are you covered for medical care or other
losses?
Mary Beth Wenger reports: you
might be stunned at what you're not covered for even if you
planned ahead. And the balance will come out of your hard-earned
savings.
ike many retirees, John and Helen
Pierce of Berkshire County loved to travel.
But this past May, just after
they crossed the Canadian border from Maine, the Pierces had
a catastrophic car accident that changed their lives forever.
"She broke the fifth vertebrae
in her neck," said John, describing his wife's injuries.
"We had to spend a week and a half in a hospital in St.
John, New Brunswick."
John emerged with just scrapes
and bruises, but Helen was paralyzed. In a few days, though,
they received an even bigger shock: Medicare did not cover them
outside the U.S.
"We found it was zero, no
coverage whatsoever out of the country," said John.
As soon as Helen was stable,
the hospital flew her out -- but the air ambulance cost them
$16,0000.
"It had to be paid up-front,"
said John. "Luckily, I had a credit card with a $20,000-limit."
For now, Helen is convalescing
with family in an Atlanta hospital while John tries to shoulder
the staggering bills -- which he hasn't even fully tallied yet.
"They're more than my retirement,
I can tell you that," said John.
Consequently, the Pierces are
looking at selling their Berkshire County home, their retirement
home and many of their assets. They were smart enough to get
supplemental insurance but that didn't cover everything.
Stephanie Abrams, a host of a
syndicated travel radio talk show sponsored in part by the travel
insurance industry, says there are all kinds of travel policies
available.
"Before you travel, you
really need to have insurance," said Abrams. "Even
for people that are covered to some degree, they may not be
fully covered."
"A lot of people don't want
to pay, but I say penny-wise, pound-foolish," Abrams continued.
"It'll be four to eight percent of the cost of your trip."
Abrams says if you need transport
to the U.S. as the Pierces did, it can be costly: "I've
heard numbers of 120,000 to get home from Brazil, 160,000 from
Sicily."
But for $295 a year, a family
can get on a plan that would let them fly in an air ambulance
anywhere they want.
A fundraiser at Cranwell resort
in Lenox where Helen once worked raised $19,000 for the Pierces.
But as far as insurance goes, John advises: Don't leave home
without it.
"I checked to see what my
coverage was, but I never checked to see what my coverage wasn't,"
said John.
(Mary Beth Wenger, CBS 6 Albany)
PAGE SELECTION> 1
/ 2
