While on a rainforest hike in Costa Rica, you catch your foot on a liana vine and crash to the ground. As your ankle swells, you manage to hobble back to the jeep and reach a nearby private hospital. But when you pull out your U.S. health insurance card, the hospital staff shake their heads. They won’t take your card. It's cash up front or nothing.

This happens more often than you think. Travelers assume their health insurance works overseas—but not every insurance plan will cover you for every destination and situation. If you're planning a trip abroad and wondering, "Do I need travel insurance if I have health insurance?” here's how to find out.

Do I need travel insurance if my insurer offers overseas health insurance?

When you're planning an overseas trip, you should call your insurance company beforehand to ask if your plan can reimburse you for emergency care received while traveling abroad.

In general, U.S. health insurance plans do not cover emergency care received overseas. Most health insurance plans will not pay for medical evacuations, either, or repatriation to the United States following a medical emergency. “Medical evacuation by air ambulance back to the United States can cost from $20,000 to $200,000, depending on where you are and your health condition,” the U.S. Department of State warns.¹ That’s why it’s essential to have travel insurance that includes protection for medical emergencies.

Do I need travel insurance if I have Medicare?

The short answer: Yes. According to Medicare.gov, health care you get while traveling outside the U.S. isn't covered. There are a few rare exceptions. If, for instance, you're traveling through Canada to get to Alaska when a medical emergency occurs, and a Canadian hospital is the nearest facility, Medicare may cover your treatment.²

You can purchase a Medigap policy to cover emergency care received outside the United States, but that coverage is limited. Medigap plans can reimburse 80 percent of the billed charges for certain medically necessary emergency care outside the U.S. after you meet a yearly deductible. Medigap coverage has a lifetime limit of $50,000.

The OneTrip Prime plan from Allianz Partners, on the other hand, has no deductible and offers benefits for 100 percent of losses due to covered medical emergencies, up to $50,000 per trip.

Does travel insurance include urgent care while traveling?

If your Allianz Travel Insurance plan includes emergency medical benefits, you also have access to Global Doctor Visits for urgent care while traveling abroad. (Not available in all countries; see a current list of destinations here.)

Use the Allyz® app to find a pre-screened doctor near you and schedule an appointment for medical issues or concerns that need attention, but may not be considered medical emergencies. Examples of conditions that may be addressed by a Global Doctor Visit:

• A rash, insect bite, or skin condition
• A stomach bug or respiratory illness
• A strain or sprain
• Cuts, puncture wounds or other minor injuries

Find a doctor near you and book an appointment—in-office or telehealth—right in the app. Consultation fees for your first three visits can be covered by your plan. If you have additional costs that may be eligible for reimbursement, such as medical tests or prescriptions, you can file a claim.

Learn more: Global Doctor Visits: Medical Care Where and When You Need It

Three things to know about travel insurance vs. health insurance

1. Travel insurance isn't the same thing as health insurance.
   Travel insurance with emergency medical benefits doesn't cover preventive, routine or elective medical care. Read your plan documents so you understand how your benefits work and what’s excluded.
2. Travel insurance includes some major benefits that health insurance plans don't offer.
   When you buy international travel insurance from Allianz Partners, you're not just getting benefits to cover emergency medical expenses. You also get emergency medical transportation benefits, up to $1 million (depending on the plan you choose) to travel to the nearest appropriate medical facility or to return home. This is huge. If you need to be airlifted to a hospital, or you need a nurse to escort you home, the costs will be exorbitant without travel insurance.
   
   Travel insurance also includes many other benefits. One of the most important is trip cancellation and interruption protection to reimburse you for non-refundable, pre-paid trip costs, in case you have to cancel your travel because of covered illness, injury or another covered reason.
3. Travel insurance includes personal, one-on-one help in emergencies.
   Call the 24-hour assistance hotline from anywhere in the world, and our call center experts will help you, including serving as interpreters and even arranging to fly a family member to your bedside, if necessary.

We know this can get confusing, and we're here to help. Call our travel insurance advisers anytime at 1-866-884-3556, and they can talk you through your travel insurance options and coverage needs.