Medical travel insurance

[Helena8057]

I have oxygen therapy only on exercise so when sitting my oxygen levels are good they drop as soon as I move I’m hoping to go to America to visit my daughter and grandchild but I’m having difficulty in getting travel medical insurance I wonder if anybody knows or hasTravelled before would know where I can get insurance as all the ones I’ve tried are either way too expensive i.e. £3000 or won’t insure me at all hopefully somebody may be able to help thank you

[skischool]

If your sats fail on exertion have you had a fit to fly test?before you even need to consider insurance you need to make sure you will get to your destination.it is likely to you will need oxygen on the flight to compensate for the depreciation in oxygen levels under cabin pressure.most POC's would have inadequate battery life to sustain more than a four hour flight if you need more than 2 lpm but thankfully most long haul airlines can provide oxygen on request.

Not trying to be a doom and gloom merchant on your travel preps and just asking the basics,hopefully these are already covered and someone can come along with a good recommendation for insurance.

Best wishes Ski's and Scruff's

[Helena8057 in reply to skischool]

Thank you I have already had permission to fly as when sitting my oxygen levels are 97% so I wouldn’t need oxygen on board the plane the only thing is I cannot walk far anyway but again thank you for your reply

[skischool in reply to Helena8057]

Helen please don't assume you are fit to fly,the fact that you require ambulatory oxygen is a good indication that you will need oxygen to fly safely.please at least speak to your consultant and take his/her advice.

[rogerw117 in reply to Helena8057]

My SATS are 95% when sitting, but a hypoxic challenge test, ("fit to fly test"), clearly showed that when pressure dropped - replicating an aircraft at height - I needed oxygen. Using a pulse oximeter in flight my SATS start dropping about 10 minutes into the flight as we gain height. Going to the loo can be a challenge too! Also, you must have a letter from your consultant stating that you can fly and that you'll need oxygen in flight. I've been asked for this at UK airports and at airports overseas. Without it, I'm not sure I'd have been allowed to fly which could be tricky if you're in the USA!

[Hidden]

As you mention your sats dropping on movement you need to discuss with your doctor if he thinks you are ok to achieve your intended travel. If you are fit to fly then give the BLF helpline a call for further advice + I believe they have a list of insurers and can advise further what will be required regarding inflight oxygen and oxygen arrangements in the US.

In addition you may want to read information from the links on this page:

blf.org.uk/search/site/Insu...

Good luck and keeping everything crossed you are ok to go with all arrangements in place.

[Alfiebax2]

I was the same as you . Oxygen for ambulatory use but fine when sitting . I've also had LVRS Surgery . I still had to have a fit to fly test and I still need oxygen on a flight so you really must have this fit to fly test. You are put ina glass box with pressure its painless but it tells if you need oxygen ontravel . I recommend you have this test as soon as possible . Goid luck

Best wishes Babs xx

[James48]

Medical Travel Compared are quite good. BA used to provide free oxygen for America but not sure now. Worth checking. Whoever you fly with normally require a medical form to be signed by your Gp stating how much oxygen you need for the flight in litres per minute.

You could see your GP first and ask for referral for oxygen test. Might be months with the Nhs. Private companies do it but will be expensive.

Depending on the outcome of oxygen assessment you will know how many litres per minute you would need to fly.

[Hidden]

Possibly next year may be safer to travel as well and in between time you can investigate all and be on the ball with getting everything sorted in readiness.

Last I heard US weren't letting UK folk in and certainly US is not currently a recommended holiday location for UK folk.

gov.uk/foreign-travel-advic...

Plan for next year seems to be the better option.

[Maureenpearl]

You could get in touch with the department that assess you for the oxygen for them to do a fit to fly test and they will give you the letter which you will need when booking your flight so oxygen can be arranged for you to use in flight.

You will need your own portable concentrator and one that is suitable to carryon the plane. You will also need to take the test again as it need to be six week before you travel.

Travel insurance to the US is very expensive so you might want to look into paying for the weeks you will be there as a one off.

It wouldn't be wise to travel to the US right now and if you did when you come back to the UK you will have to go into quarantine.

Hope it goes well for you.

[Caspiana]

Hi Helena. 👋

I was like you. My oxygen levels dropped on exertion. I did fly but was required to use oxygen during the whole flight. There is a wide range of issues that could happen for us with compromised lungs, we are at a higher risk for significant hypoxemia. So I would suggest as everyone else has, take the fit to fly test just to be safe. Up to 12% of on board emergency situations are attributed to respiratory distress. Take care.

Cas xx 🙋

[Lauraess]

Insurance is essential as medical travels are a bit risky. And you never know whether you will need an expensive medical service in another country or not. And speaking of being sure, what's important while choosing the agencies providing medical travel services, be sure that they use the advanced NEMT software like this one, for instance, routegenie.com/ . An extra layer of safety won't heart