What is the average cost of a medical evacuation?
- By
- Aparna Patel
- |
- 11 Aug, 2023
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I just organized an evacuation from Tel Aviv to Chicago. For the patient on a stretcher with his wife and medic it cost $26,000
My Family recently experienced a situation where a medical evacuation became necessary. The quote that I received from Casta Rica to Portland OR was $47,000.00. Fortuneately we are insured and the tour company had coverage also. My advice to the frequent traveler. get coverage! I also noted the many Med evac companies have subscription service…….if you travel….get it.
Cost of medical evaluation varies widely depending on what region you are travelling to, and what country you are from. Evacuation almost always involves bringing you back to your country of residence rather than ‘closest’ ‘good’ medical facility you need to confirm this when reading policy wording documents.
According to an insurance group, typical evacuation costs (it appears this is a ‘within EU’ figure) is £25,000. Another advisory published by the Australian government mentions $75,000-$90,000 (most probably this in Australian dollars).
Another thing to watch out for is the terminology used in policy wording. Some companies use ‘repatriation’ to cover both evacuation in medical emergencies when you’re alive as well as bringing back of body remains in case of death, while others cover repatriation and medical expenses separately.
That said, most travel insurance policies I have taken or compared usually have reasonably high limits for medical evacuation / repatriation even for cheap policies. More than the amount covered, I have found the difference between good and bad policies is how restrictive their conditions are for these situations. Many of the ‘bad’ ones may not guarantee you an evacuation because they have clauses which say it depends on whether they determine you can be ‘safely’ transported for the duration of evacuation.
I found a statistic for you that lists the average medical evacuation cost for at least some countries:
As you can see, you have to be prepared for some 10,000 USD.
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