This article is the second in a series designed to help U.S. Government contractors with employees traveling overseas review their current coverage and plan for the future.
Is a Defense Base Act insurance policy enough when your company has workers overseas? Maybe not. If an employee working overseas has a heart attack or stroke, there’s a good chance that a DBA insurance policy will not respond. In order for an incident to be an eligible DBA claim, it must be occupational in nature or work-related. Otherwise, it will be treated as a medical claim.
To help decide whether your company needs more insurance coverage for this exposure, you should ask yourself the following questions:
Would the medical coverage under your Employee Benefit Plan respond to a claim like this? While some PPO plans may provide an out-of-network benefit, HMO plans provide no coverage overseas.
Would that Plan pay for medical evacuation services if emergency transport of the employee were required? Most domestic health plans do not provide medical evacuation services outside the U.S.
Would the Plan wire a “good faith” deposit to the overseas hospital so medical treatment could begin? Many hospitals overseas will not accept an insurance card from the U.S. and may demand a deposit to admit a patient to the hospital.
It’s likely the answer to one or more of these questions is “no.” That’s why Business Travel Accident (BTA) & Medical Expense Coverage is so important to government contractors with employees working overseas. This policy provides the coverage necessary to:
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Stabilize the employee in a hospital overseas
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Arrange a “medical evacuation” so that the employee can be returned home
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Repatriate mortal remains in the event of a death by natural causes
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Provide medical monitoring of the patient while keeping the patient’s family in the U.S. updated on his/her condition
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Protect the company’s Employee Benefit Plan claim experience against an overseas medical claim
For additional information about BTA & Medical Expense coverage or to request a full review of your foreign insurance program, please contact Sara Payne, a 25-year veteran of foreign and DBA insurance program administration, at 800-291-6182.
COMING NEXT MONTH: an insurance check-up for your Foreign Policy
