Just a suggestion for any newbies like us who will be travelling for tests and/or surgery.

I just checked with my insurance (Aetna) and my plan reimburses all airline, hotel and meal expenses. (I work for Johnson & Johnson)

I was amazed! I just have to send them original receipts.

Also, if this wasn't the case, my Flexcomp account for healthcare (pre-tax $s taken out on an annual basis for out of pocket expenses) would cover travel as well as hotel and meals too.

I was pleasantly surprised and I hope this might come in handy for others.

Stephanie

We have Aetna too, and although I knew we could seek reimbursement through our flex spending account, I wasn't aware that the insurance itself would reimburse for medical incidentals like travel, etc.  I'm going to check into this for our specific plan.

Sharon

Good luck!!! I hope it works. I'm not sure if it depends on the emmmployer's plan or not. Keep us posted!

Also, FYI, when I called Aetna and asked them, they said no. They only reimburse for transplant patient's travel. They had me cal Care Connect, a service which provides a nurse manager for our case. That person is the one who approved it.

Stephanie

Wow Stephanie,

What great news about being reimbursed by your insurance (AETNA)!  I, unfortunately, could not receive any reimbursements for my travel to North Carolina even though I could not obtain the necessary medical treatment (emergency double bypass) in my state!  I have HMSA which is a part of the Blue Cross/Blue Shield.  As you can imagine, we racked up a hefty bill which included not only medical bills, but hotel, rental car and meals since I had to stay an extra week after my surgery.  :-[

Take care,
Shan

Wow...that is a bummer that they wouldn't cover it. I guess it really depends on the insurer and the employer. I am learning very quickly my way around the system.
Last open season, my pediatrician suggested that I change my insurance to Aetna PPO from MAMSI HMO. She had a feeling that the things that we were dealing with would lead to some major medical intervention. Thank God I did! My old plan wouldn't have covered Jia Li anywhere outside of the DC/Metro area. Yikes!!!
Just curious...did you check into Flexcomp as a way to help defray the costs?!? They also have provisions for travel etc...but you have to ofcourse designate the monies during open season the year prior.
I hope that things are going well for you now. Just curious...what happened that you had to stay an extra week after surgery and how long did it take all together until you went home?!? (If you don't mind sharing that is. )
Stephanie

Hi Stephanie,

If my (not-so-good) memory serves me correctly, I was in the hospital for about 7-8 days.  Then, I had to stay additional days in a local hotel until my post-op appointment when my staples were removed (I think it was day 12).  I believe it was best that I didn't fly so soon after surgery.  The flight was like 12 hours. (North Carolina via Pheonix via LA to Hawaii)  I had an emergency double bypass (STA-MCA) and an indirect procedure.  I also had to do a  [smiley=heart.gif] test pre and post op to make sure my  [smiley=heart.gif] was okay.  I think it may have been preventive/precautionary reasons for the extra stay.  Trust me, I actually didn't want to go home!  I was actually scared to be so far from my neurosurgeon!!!  

I am lucky though that my neurosurgeon is a participating member of HMSA (Hawaii Medical Service Association), so at least my surgery and appointments were covered! (I think it's because he has done numerous surgeries in Hawaii in the past.)   Boy do those bills rack up...

I'm so glad you changed to PPO!  I too belong to a PPO plan.  I like choosing my own dr.'s.  ;)

p.s.  I thought staying the extra days would give me a chance to get a glimpse of a real live squirrel, but unfortunately, I didn't.... :-[  So far, I'm 0 for 2.  No snow and No squirrels thus far!

We have Aetna also!  However, they would not pay for our travel.  I had money in my flex spending so at least I didn't have to pay taxes on it!! ;;D

Hello MM Family

On the message board their is travel information,under "Patient Resources".
If you are going to Stanford,Micheal Thomas will help you get a reasonable accomadations.

Kevin [smiley=twocents.gif]

I have to bring it up, I have AETNA also, HMO, they agree to paid for my hotel room for me and 1 care giver up to $50 ea.  They also paid for mileage and paid told and parking, because we have about 170 mile travel so we drive oursefl, but they also said that if I have ER to fly they will paid for it too.  Hope it help
Kieu