[pct-l] health/travel insurance while hiking

[aarondoss at gmail.com (Aaron Doss)]

Terry,
We hope to see you out there also. Do you have a trail name from the AT 
which you will be using?

Regarding insurance, you and Rick brought up something I haven't thought of, 
Helicopter/ Ambulance evacuation coverage. I will probably find a local 
insurance agent who can help search for the appropriate coverage, but first 
I need to make a list of costly services and and make sure they are covered; 
Helicopter evac, physical therapy/rehab.

I realize that the chances of serious trauma are pretty slim but one broken 
ankle can cost more than ten-thousand dollars when you total up evacuation, 
acute care and rehab. 

Are there any other costly services which I have forgotten about?

Is hiking to the top of Whitney on a trail considered "mountain climbing" by 
insurers?

Aaron

Aaron,

I look forward to meeting your wife & you on the PCT next year! 
Although I have not thruhiked the PCT yet, I have done two AT thruhikes and 
handled insurance for both.

First, I recommend seeking out a local independent insurance agent who knows 
the health insurance market in your state. He can help you analyze the 
premium verses deductable trade-off. He will also know details about the 
coverage which is usually not available on websites.
(e.g., limits on flight-for-life coverage.) Ask self-employed
friends for recommendations.

In 1998 I carried a basic policy with a $2,500 deductable, 100% coinsurance, 
and physical therapy coverage. It didn't have prescription drug coverage. 
(Trauma care typically uses relatively cheap drugs such as morphine.) I had 
minor knee surgery in 1996, and the policy had a rider excluding the first 
$5,000 of any problems with that knee. The policy was renewable, and the 
premium was about $90 / month.

In 2001 I also carried a basic policy similar to the previous one, except I 
increased the deductable to $5,000 since I had the reserves to cover the 
cost. The insurance company did not exclude my knee. 
This policy had a PPO network that covered most of the AT corridor, but it 
would cover non-PPO doctor visits at the same rate if there was not a 
participating doc within 25 miles. The premium on this policy was also about 
$90.

For next year I am investigating the high deductable policies with a HSA 
(healthcare savings account) since I plan to be either self-employed or 
self-unemployed for a few years. My agent has priced a few policies that 
fall in the range of $120 - $150 / month (now that I am over 40!) with a 
$2,500 deductable and good PPO coverage along the west coast. Going to a 
$5,000 deductable drops the premium by about $20, and I will probably not 
assume the additional risk of the higher deductable for the long term.

The only time I tend to visit a doc is when I have a sport injury. I also 
don't have any on-going health issues. (Single male, born in
1963)

Finally, be aware some policies exclude "mountain climbing." A potential 
insurer defined this so broad as to cover almost anything related to hiking 
and backpacking.

cheers,
terry
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