Unless you’re extremely wealthy or invulnerable to injury and illness it’s probably a good idea to get visitor medical insurance before you travel overseas. This applies equally to Americans traveling abroad and to foreigners coming to visit, work, or study in the USA.
It’s easy to overlook the need for insurance, especially on shorter trips. There is, however, a real risk associated with foreign travel and, depending on the country or countries being visited, medical care could be more expensive than you think or may not be available at all which would require you to be evacuated back home or to a nearby country where you could get treatment.
While it is true that many people travel without ever getting sick or hurt, the same can be said about daily life. Do you have domestic health insurance protecting you in case something happens? While you can’t take that policy with you overseas, you can buy similar coverage so that your mind can be at ease instead of worrying that every time you go skiing, scuba diving, cycling or rock climbing will end up with you in a hospital. A good policy will cover emergency treatment, help you replace lost prescriptions for medicine, eyeglasses, and the like, and even have provisions for evacuation. For longer visits you can purchase insurance that covers preventive checkups and services as well as treatment for existing conditions.
The proper question to ask isn’t whether you need visitor medical insurance, but how much and what kind.
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