1. It starts from 12.01 AM Eastern time the day you specify.

2. Keeping time zone difference in mind between India and US East Coast (10.5 hours currently), in order to cover during the travel time as well, you should put the effective date one day in advance of the travel date.

3. Most products we offer are PPO plans therefore most doctors and almost all the hospitals in network bill the insurance company directly. You don't have to file for reimbursement. That is the biggest advantage of buying visitors insurance from US based company which has a PPO network.
Visit http://www.insubuy.com/visitor-insurance/ and next to each plan, you will see several links. Any plan that participates in PPO network (almost all) has a link called 'Provider Directory'. You will find participating providers there.

If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact us at any time at (866) INSU-BUY.

Your understanding is partially correct about all the US plans we sell except Inbound USA that does not have PPO network and hence no network negotiated fees.

Visit http://www.insubuy.com/visitor-insurance/
Next to each product, you will see a link that says 'How Plan Works'.

That will explain essentially the same thing I am explaining here.

However, please note that network negotiated fees apply only to the covered expenses that the insurance is company is going to pay for. It does not apply to non-covered expenses such as pre-existing conditions.

We are insurance brokers and we offer many different products from different companies and all of them don't work the same way.

1. Visit http://www.insubuy.com/visitor-insurance/
Next to each product, you will see a link 'How Plan Works'. It will explain you in detail.

2. You must have purchased a product that didn't participate in any PPO network. Otherwise, there is no way, that one network discount it from $180 to $75 and other wouldn't do it at all.

There are few products out there that don't participate in any network, but still provide a link for provider directory! Those companies usually don't explicitly clarify that there is no network until asked. If asked for clarification, they would claim the link is provided only for your convenience of finding a provider. You could look up in Yahoo yellow pages, ask your friend, or search in Google as well.

Dear Mr. Appalla,

I am sorry to hear that you have ended up with large medical bills.

I have received the documents you sent me: the brochure and the certificate of insurance you had purchased.

From looking at your policy, it seems you have purchased fixed coverage plan. Please look at fixed vs comprehensive plans difference at http://www.insubuy.com/guide/visitors-insurance-types.jsp
 
Also, if you look at our web site http://www.insubuy.com/visitor-insurance/, you will see that we have cleared marked the fixed plans and comprehensive plans so that people know exactly what they are purchasing.

It seems that, in your case, you were not aware that it was a fixed coverage plan.

That is exactly why it is important to purchase the insurance from the broker like us who work in the best interest of customers, you. Look at FAQ #1 at http://www.insubuy.com/guide/faq/visitors-medical-insurance-purchase-faq.jsp We make it very clear to all customers what exactly they are purchasing.
 
I would have been glad to guide you, but looking at the policy, it says it will pay $1,750/day in hospital room and board for $100,000 policy. As long as they paid according to that, I believe there is nothing I, you or anyone else can do about it. You will have to take care of the remaining expenses yourself.

I recommend purchasing comprehensive coverage plans like Patriot America or Atlas America in future, available on our web site at http://www.insubuy.com

If you need any other help or have questions, please feel free to contact us at (866) INSU-BUY at any time.

Dear Mr. Behara,

We require more information from you before we can suggest you the most appropriate plan.

Please call us at (866) INSU-BUY and we would be glad to help you.

Narendra,
Please suggest a Healthcare Insurance plan which will suit my requirements as stated below:

Members to be insured:
Self - 29 years
Spouse - 25 years
Child - 2 years.

None of us have any medical history. I am looking for a coverage of $50000 with a $250 deductible.

Thanks in advance,
Salil Behara.

NS,

Your analysis is quite accurate. And because of the reasons you mentioned in your post, I would suggest that you consider buying Atlas America as it would be more suitable to you in your situation.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us at any time.

Hello Narendra,

First of all let me compliment you and your staff for an excellent and very informative site that you have.

My parents arrived in the USA last week and I am looking for a good comprehensive insurance plan for them. They are aged 56 & 55 years respectively and would be here for the next 5 and half months. My mother is diabetic and my dad has a mild case of high blood pressure. Both have brought sufficient supply of insulin/medicines with them.

I did some research on the visitor’s insurance plan in the last couple of days and have narrowed down to Atlas America and Patriot America. Though their premiums are almost the same and they have the same First Health PPO network, I am leaning more towards Atlas America because of its co-insurance waiver for in-network facilities and limited coverage of acute onset of pre-existing conditions. On the other hand Patriot America covers 90 day supply of prescription drugs as opposed to 60 days Atlas America and also has a RX discount card. Everything else seems to be the same for these two.

We are in Florida and I am looking at $100,000 coverage for both with $500 deductable. I would like your opinion on which would be the better option out of the two for us.

Thanks!
NS

1. Based on the medical records from the treatment taken here in the U.S. and attending physician statement, the claims department of the insurance company determines whether something is a pre-existing condition or not.

2. Please look at #1. Determination is an after-fact based on all the medical records submitted. Therefore, based on something initial like that, it may not be possible to tell whether something is covered or not, whether it is an acute onset of pre-existing condition or not. It can only be told for sure when the claim is processed, that is in most cases after the treatment.

3. I don't suggest that. When you buy two insurance plans, it does not work like the way you think. Both plans are effective at the same time, considered secondary to any other plan you have and therefore, both companies would have to do coordination of benefits and would only pay a portion of the bills. And when two companies are in two different countries, you are looking at much bigger headache than you can imagine.

It is always better to buy the insurance from the U.S. based companies only. Please read http://www.insubuy.com/guide/visitors-insurance-usa-india-comparison.jsp to understand the difference between buying from the U.S. vs India. Most of the plans in India are only fixed coverage plans for persons above the age of 55 years. Read http://www.insubuy.com/guide/visitors-insurance-types.jsp to understand the difference between fixed coverage and comprehensive coverage. Also, read people's experiences in this section and on this discussion forum before deciding to buy from India.

In your case, you can balance the cost vs benefit by choosing a deductible of $250, $500 or $1,000. $100 deductible is too low and $2,500 is too high and you are considering only the extremes.

I suggest that you buy one insurance from here in the U.S. such as Atlas America and only one.

I hope that answers your questions.

Thanks for your prompt response.

Who would determine if a case is acute onset, or pre-existing etc? Is it the attending physician or would it be Atlas America?

If someone gets hospitalized for something and we have the initial report from the physician, can we get an answer instantly from Atlas America if it will be covered or not so that we know how to proceed?

I am considering to take Atlas America ($100k, $2500 deductible) and ICICI lombard ($50K). This way I can submit any minor bills to ICICI and if I hit a major one, I can use Atlas America Services. Is this an acceptible and legal practice? (This works out much cheaper than going with Atlas America $100 deductbile)

Thanks