Brazil

 Brazil has an exotic variety of wild life thriving in spectacular natural settings. This journey takes you to a selection of these remarkable places. 

The trip begins in Rio de Janeiro, an imposing city clinging to forested mountains and the shoreline of the Atlantic Ocean. From here, head to Paraty, a colonial waterfront town with sun-kissed tropical islands just a short boat ride away. Head west to view the roaring waters of the Iguazú Falls, where a foaming torrent pours over 275 separate cataracts and walkways lead you through subtropical forest to stunning view points.

Next stop is the Pantanal wetlands, Latin America's wilderness safari park, and a wonderful place to observe thousands of aquatic, forest and grassland birds as well as a host of  exotic mammals, before you head back to Rio for one last caipirinha cocktail and a stroll along Copacabana beach.

Travel insurance

Travel insurance is insurance that is intended to cover medical expenses, financial (such as money invested in nonrefundable pre-payments), and other losses incurred while traveling, either within one's own country, or internationally.
Travel insurance can usually be arranged at the time of booking of a trip to cover exactly the duration of that trip or a more extensive, continuous insurance can be purchased from (most often) travel insurance companies, travel agents or directly from travel suppliers such as cruiselines or tour operators. However, travel insurance purchased from travel suppliers tends to be less inclusive than insurance offered by insurance companies.
Travel insurance often offers coverage for a variety of travelers. Student travel, business travel, leisure travel, adventure travel, cruise travel, and international travel are all various options that can be insured.


The most common risks that are covered by travel insurance are:
· Medical expenses
· Emergency evacuation/repatriation
· Overseas funeral expenses
· Accidental death, injury or disablement benefit
· Cancellation
· Curtailment
· Delayed departure
· Loss, theft or damage to personal possessions and money (including travel documents)
· Delayed baggage (and emergency replacement of essential items)
· Legal assistance
· Personal liability and rental car damage excess
Some travel policies will also provide cover for additional costs, although these vary widely between providers.
And in addition, often separate insurance can be purchased for specific costs such as:
· pre-existing medical conditions (e.g. asthma, diabetes)
· high risk sports (e.g. skiing, scuba-diving)
· travel to high risk countries (e.g. due to war or natural disasters or acts of terrorism)
Common Exclusions:
· pre-existing medical conditions
· war or terrorism - but some plans may cover this risk
· pregnancy related expenses
· injury or illness caused by alcohol or drug use
Travel insurance can also provide helpful services, often 24 hours a day, 7 days a week that can include concierge services and emergency travel assistance.
Typically travel insurance for the duration of a journey costs approximately 5-7% of the cost of the trip.





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Cross Border Shopping and Travel Insurance

Many Canadians enjoy shopping for deals south of the border. Whether it is new clothes, a new mobile device, gasoline or even larger expenditures such as appliances, Canadians regularly cross that border in search of savings.

In the last decade cross border shopping has steadily been on the rise. A Statistics Canada study done in 2014 found that cross border shopping nearly doubled from 2006 to 2012 ($4.7 billion spent to $8 billion spent, respectively).

Unfortunately, too many Canadians that cross the border opt out of travel insurance protection. Most of the times these travelers get away with no coverage since the odds of some drastic medical emergency happening are remote. Oftentimes the thought pattern is that we can just cross the border back into Canada if we get ill or injured, where our provincial healthcare coverage is waiting for us.

However, cases do occur where a Canadian who has crossed the border for the day is incapacitated and ends up in an American hospital for several days. The result is a whopping hospital bill that would have been covered by a travel insurance plan for a few dollars per day!

In fact, things such as massive heart attacks and severe strokes result in situations where immediate hospitalization is an absolute must for survival, regardless of how close the border is.

Why take a chance when travel insurance coverage for such a short duration is so cheap?

Suitable Types of Travel Insurance

If you are considering getting travel insurance and love to cross border shop multiple times per year then a multi-trip travel insurance plan may be your best option. Also referred to as "annual" travel insurance, these plans offer coverage for an unlimited number of cross border trips for a specified "trip length". The shorter the trip length that is covered, the cheaper the premium.

If we run some quotes from our online travel quoting engine for a Trip Length of 4 days (for a person aged 35) we find that the premium ranges anywhere from $30 to $44. In other words, for the same price as a bottle of decent wine a Canadian can get travel insurance that covers all of their cross border shopping trips for one year!

For people who only do the cross border shopping once or twice a year than a "single-trip" travel insurance plan might be the way to go. Running more quotes, we find that a 35 year old that travels to the USA for 2 days can expect to pay a premium anywhere from $8.50 to $20. (Note that Manulife Financial does not have a minimum premium like most other insurance carriers, they are the ones quoting at $8.50).

We should also mention that travel insurance often comes as part of a personal health insurance plan. An example of this is the Flexcare health and dental plan, which offers $5 million in benefits for 9 days of coverage (there is a $100 deductible and more coverage is available as an add-on).

Conclusion

The chance that a person is hospitalized while cross border shopping in the US is rather small. However, the cost of an extended stay in an American hospital can be very high, and could run into hundreds of thousands of dollars.

For a few dollars a day, is it worth rolling the dice over?

Source: Canadian Health and Travel

Top Tips on Health Insurance

HealthQuotes.ca has been in the Canadian health insurance business since 1981, just over 33 years. This experience gives us superb insight into the industry, and we would like to pass on to you the most important things that we have learned.

Tip #1: Get Health Insurance While Healthy

This is the most important advice that we can give you! We regularly hear from Canadians who are now shopping for health insurance because of current medical bills (e.g. prescription drugs, therapy not covered by provincial healthcare, etc.). Unfortunately, trying to buy health insurance after a serious health/medical condition is diagnosed is more difficult than getting coverage while you are healthy.

Keep in mind that most health plans are “medically underwritten”, which means that there is a medical questionnaire. In addition the insurance company investigates each applicant’s medical history.

To put it in a nutshell: if you are not insured at work via employee benefits then it is a smart move to leverage your good health now and get health insurance.

Tip #2: Consider Guaranteed Health Insurance for Pre-Existing Conditions

There are people who are diagnosed with a medical condition and do not have any health insurance. If this applies to yourself or someone you know there are two options:

1. Try to purchase a medically underwritten plan, in which case coverage for the pre-existing condition(s) will be excluded or the application will be rejected.
    
2. Purchase a guaranteed issue health insurance plan that does not have medical questions (acceptance is guaranteed). These “no medical” health plans do offer coverage for pre-existing conditions. The drawback to these types of plans is that there is less coverage for the same premium cost when compared to a medically underwritten plan.

There are instances where a guaranteed health insurance plan makes a great deal of sense. An example of this is uninsured people that are diagnosed with diabetes. A guaranteed issue plan such as Flexcare ComboPlus Starter covers the costs of most of the durable medical equipment that a diabetic uses, thereby partially paying for itself. Add in the dental and prescription drug coverage and the ComboPlus Starter plan is a virtual "no brainer" for diabetics.

Tip #3: Provincial Healthcare Plans are Slowly Decreasing Coverage

The current, long-term trend with most provincial healthcare plans (e.g. AHCIP for Albertan s, OHIP for Ontarians, etc.) is a gradual decrease in coverage. This means that more and more Canadians will be paying for treatments or medications that used to be paid for by the province.

For example, as of January 1, 2013, OHIP will no longer cover annual physical checkups (they are being replaced by the less frequent "Periodic Health Exams").

What does this mean for Canadians? If you do not have health insurance coverage then you’ll be covering more and more medical costs out of pocket.

Tip #4: Prescription Drug Costs Can Hurt You Financially

Occasionally we are contacted by people who do not have drug coverage and are paying out large sums of money for prescription drug coverage.

Generally speaking, prescription drugs are only covered by provincial health plans if administered while in a hospital, or if the person in question is 65 years of age or older. (Note: each province has different public healthcare plans that determine what is covered and how much coverage there is).

A guaranteed issue health plan offers drug coverage, but in these cases the amount of coverage does not begin to cover the costs of some prescription drugs. For example, consider Kalydeco, a drug for treating cystic fibrosis that costs up to $300,000 a year.

Low-income families (in Ontario only) may qualify for prescription drug coverage via the Trillium Drug Program if the cost of the drugs is high compared to the family income. Click here for more information.

Tip #5: Know What Health Insurance Plans Cover

Before shopping for a health insurance plan it’s a good idea to know what a typical plan consists of.

Generally speaking the average Canadian private health insurance plan consists of:

• Core coverage that includes vision care (eyeglasses, eye exams, etc.) and extended health benefits such as paramedical practitioners (e.g. chiropractors, massage therapists, speech therapists, etc.)
• Dental coverage
• Prescription drug coverage

Decide if you are not interested in dental or drug coverage. If this is the case know that there are health insurance plans that don’t offer dental and/or prescription drug coverage. Don’t pay for what you do not want!

Conclusion

We hope you found these health insurance tips helpful!

If you have any questions at all please call us toll-free at 1-800-474-4474. We are licensed, experienced Canadian insurance brokers that are here to help.

Source: Canadian Health and Travel

Health Care Coverage

The term health insurance is commonly used in the United States to describe any program that helps pay for medical expenses, whether through privately purchased insurance, social insurance or a non-insurance social welfare program funded by the government. Synonyms for this usage include "health coverage," "health care coverage" and "health benefits." In a more technical sense, the term is used to describe any form of insurance that provides protection against injury or illness. This usage includes private insurance and social insurance programs such as Medicare, but excludes social welfare programs such as Medicaid. In addition to medical expense insurance, it also includes insurance covering disability or long-term nursing or custodial care needs.

Public health spending makes up the largest share of the US health care spending; if tax subsidies are counted, the figure is 60%. As a proportion of GDP, public health care spending in the United States is larger than in most other large Western countries. On top of that, the system relies heavily on private and not-for-profit health insurance, which is the primary source of coverage for most Americans. According to the United States Census Bureau, approximately 85% of Americans have health insurance; nearly 60% obtain it through an employer, while about 9% purchase it directly. Various government agencies provide coverage to about 28% of Americans (there is some overlap in these figures).

Employer-provided health insurance receives uncapped tax subsidies. According to OECD, it "encourages the purchase of more generous insurance plans, notably plans with little cost sharing, thus exacerbating moral hazard". In 2007, there were nearly 46 million people in the US (over 15% of the population) who were without health insurance for at least part of that year. The percentage of the non-elderly population who are uninsured has been generally increasing since the year 2000. There is considerable debate in the US regarding the health insurance system.

Health Care

Public programs provide the primary source of coverage for most seniors and for low-income children and families who meet certain eligibility requirements. The primary public programs are Medicare, a federal social insurance program for seniors and certain disabled individuals; Medicaid, funded jointly by the federal government and states but administered at the state level, which covers certain very low income children and their families; and SCHIP, also a federal-state partnership that serves certain children and families who do not qualify for Medicaid but who cannot afford private coverage. Other public programs include military health benefits provided through TRICARE and the Veterans Health Administration and benefits provided through the Indian Health Service. Some states have additional programs for low-income individuals.
Medicare
In the United States, Medicare is a federal social insurance program that provides health insurance to elderly workers and their dependents, individuals who become totally and permanently disabled, and end stage renal disease (ESRD) patients. Some health care economists (Uwe Reinhardt of Princeton and Stuart Butler among others) assert that the third-party payment feature of this program has had the unintended consequence of distorting the price of medical procedures. As a result, the Health Care Financing Administration has set up a list of procedures and corresponding prices under the Resource-Based Relative Value Scale. Recent research has found that the health trends of previously uninsured adults, especially those with chronic health problems, improves once they enter the Medicare program.
Medicare Advantage
Medicare Advantage plans expand the health care options for Medicare beneficiaries. The option for Medicare Advantage plans is a result of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, with the intent to better control the rapid growth in Medicare spending, as well as to provide Medicare beneficiaries more choices.
Medicare Part D (Prescription Drugs)
Medicare Part D provides a private insurance option to allow Medicare beneficiaries to purchase subsidized coverage for the costs of prescription drugs. It was enacted as part of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA) and went into effect on January 1, 2006.
Medicaid
Medicaid was instituted for the very poor in 1965. Despite its establishment, the percentage of US residents who lack any form of health insurance has increased since 1994.[13] It has been reported that the number of physicians accepting Medicaid has decreased in recent years due to relatively high administrative costs and low reimbursements.[14] Medicaid is a social welfare or social protection program rather than a social insurance program.
State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)
The State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) is a joint state/federal program to provide health insurance to children in families who earn too much money to qualify for Medicaid, yet cannot afford to buy private insurance. The statutory authority for SCHIP is under title XXI of the Social Security Act. SCHIP programs are run by the individual states according to requirements set by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and may be structured as independent programs separate from Medicaid (separate child health programs), as expansions of their Medicaid programs (SCHIP Medicaid expansion programs), or combine these approaches (SCHIP combination programs). States receive enhanced federal funds for their SCHIP programs at a rate above the regular Medicaid match.
Military health benefits
Health benefits are provided to active duty service members, retired service members and their dependents by the Department of Defense Military Health System (MHS). The MHS consists of a direct care network of Military Treatment Facilities and a purchased care network known as TRICARE. Additionally, veterans may also be eligible for benefits through the Veterans Health Administration.
Indian health service
The Indian Health Service (IHS) provides medical assistance to eligible American Indians at IHS facilities, and helps pay the cost of some services provided by non-IHS health care providers.
State risk pools
In 1976, some states began providing guaranteed-issuance risk pools, which enable individuals who are medically uninsurable through private health insurance to purchase a state-sponsored health insurance plan, usually at higher cost. Minnesota was the first to offer such a plan; 34 states now offer them. Plans vary greatly from state to state, both in their costs and benefits to consumers and in their methods of funding and operations. They serve a very small portion of the uninsurable market—about 182,000 people in the US as of 2004. In best cases, they allow people with pre-existing conditions such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease or other chronic illnesses to be able to switch jobs or seek self-employment without fear of being without health care benefits. However, the plans are expensive, with premiums that can be double the average policy, and the pools currently cover only 1 in 25 of the so-called "uninsurable" population. Efforts to pass a national pool have as yet been unsuccessful, but some federal tax money has been awarded to states to innovate and improve their plans.

Health Insurance

Health insurance policies will often cover the cost of private medical treatments if the National Health Service in the United Kingdom (NHS) or other publicly-funded health programs do not pay for them. It will often result in quicker health care where better facilities are available. Dental insurance, like medical insurance, is coverage for individuals to protect them against dental costs. In the U.S., dental insurance is often part of an employer's benefits package, along with health insurance. Most countries rely on public funding to ensure that all citizens have universal access to health care.