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What type of travel/medical insurance do I need?

I am flying from the the U.S. in November to Australia. After checking with my insurance carrier (Blue Cross/Blue Shield) I find that I will be covered overseas, but have to pay all the medical fees upfront, THEN wait for reimbursement (same with my AFLAC policy). After looking through all the confusing plans on insuremytrip.com, I'm not sure whether to get medical insurance, travel insurance or both and just how much coverage. I'm in decent health, although I have hypertension and diabetes (Type 2) that are managed quite well through a physician's care and don't cause me any problems. BOTTOM LINE: Has anyone from the U.S. traveling overseas had to use one of these plans for medical/travel and did the carrier of the plan come through when needed in a time of crisis? What was the name of your carrier and how much did the plan charge? Was it found at the insuremytrip.com website or somewhere else? I need to know because my trip is coming down to the wire and my friends in Australia said I should never travel without insurance coverage. It would be greatly appreciated to get some useful, intuitive real world information.

Public Comments

1. I don't know enough about your specific medical insurer to know if their cover is adequate for routine doctor visits (what about pharmaceuticals?) but I never travel anywhere without good travel insurance. That should cover all urgent treatment with no up front payment AND repatriation expenses in the event of a serious incident and also covers you for lost luggage, travel delay and cancellation expenses and theft. The travel insurance I use is issued by Mondial Assistance which is an international company and they're very reliable. World Nomads is a good international travel insurance company but I think they also use Mondial.
2. Ozmaniac, as usual, has covered the subject pretty well. To give you a rough idea to visit a GP most overseas visitors pay around $A60 for a standard visit, the amount can vary from Dr to Dr however. Though nowhere near as expensive as the US medical expenses can still ruin a holiday over here. I'd assume you are on regular medication for your hypertension (and possibly diabetes) so try to ensure you have sufficient meds to cover the trip. When you come on over make sure they are in original packaging with your name on them (the chemist label in other words), and make sure you delcare them on your passenger card. When you read up on your insurance coverage just make sure you read the fine print. Some won't cover your injuries when doing adventerous acitivies for example. Some won't cover emergency transport or evacuation. Travel insurance is one of things worth paying a little extra for better coverage.
3. Ozmaniac is right on the money again.... I traveled and used Blue Cross similar to you, and yes I had to pay up front and then get reimbursed.