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General rules
You are a United States’ resident.
Or your spouse has a contract with a
French, Belgian or Spanish Health Insurance.
Welcome to TCS
We are the insurance carrier of your
European insurance company in the USA. We are open Monday through
Thursday from 8:00am to 7:00pm and Friday from 8:00am to 6:00pm.
We are open
FOR ERMERGENCY ONLY, 7 days a week, 24/24.
After your registration on our web
site, and after reviewing your benefits with your French, Belgian or
Spanish insurance company, you will receive a letter of references
plus your ID Card(s) through the mail.
You can also address your requests
for more information by email.
Below are some general information
regarding your medical coverage in the United States.
For
health care services, you fall under the jurisdiction of your
country’s Medicare.
To find a physician or a
hospital, you have to go in the network TO HAVE A BETTER
COVERAGE!!
The content of the entire network
(which would be equal to 60 books of 5 kg or 11 lbs each) was made
available to you on the Travel Care Services website.
Therefore, to find a physician or a
facility close to your home or your work place, you must go in the
network.
When making an appointment, do not
forget to mention to the secretary which network your insurance is
affiliated to. While performing your online research on our website,
you will be redirected to one of our PPO networks; there, you will
find the practitioner’s contact information along with the name of
the PPO network.
If the doctor or the
establishment you go to does not belong to the network, you will
have to pay directly on the spot.
But do not forget that you
will be penalized by paying a deductible up to 30% of the amount of
the medical bill!!!
FOR ALL STATES:
Avoid consultations, biological
examinations or radiological examinations (CT scans, MRI, X-rays,
ultrasounds etc) at the hospital (it is very expensive), and visits
to the ER (longer waiting time and higher costs) except for REAL
EMERGENCIES (e.g. evacuation by fire fighter, car accident, heart
attack etc).
As soon as you or a member of your
family has to be hospitalized (surgery, emergency, etc) you
should immediately inform us by dialing our toll-free number,
1-888-251-0765, or by sending us an email at assistance@travelcareservices.com,
so that an authorization can be requested to your insurance.
Be aware that after 6:00pm, only
emergency calls will be considered.
For any other information (e.g.
billing, registration etc) please dial the following number:
1.305.893 9433 during operating hours.
For Washington, DC
Avoid Georgetown University Hosp.,
(extremely expensive) except for REAL EMERGENCIES
For children up to 15 years old, we recommend that you go to
Children' s Medical National
For Maryland and Maine
Avoid all the
hospitals in Maryland and Maine
(except for a TRUE EMERGENCY),
because they have a “state regulation” that eliminates any
possibility of negotiation with the hospitals.
For California
San Francisco:
Avoid California
Pacific Medical Center
(very expensive), except for a TRUE
EMERGENCY.
Los Angeles
Avoid UCLA and
affiliated
(very expensive), except for a TRUE
EMERGENCY
General rules
Going in the network and presenting
your TCS ID card at the establishments or at the doctors’ offices
will allow you to save substantial amounts and to avoid paying on
the spot (for special cases, see specific conditions pertaining to
each insurance company).
Only MD doctors are recognized by
your country’s insurance company.
Office Visit
After finding your doctor (general
practitioner, specialist, etc) in the network, and showing your TCS
ID card, you won’t need to pay anything on the spot.
TCS will receive the invoice and
apply the reduction mentioned in the PPO contract.
You will then receive a request for
payment by email, which you will have to pay to Travel Care
Services. You will have 15 days to do so.
(Thank you for agreeing to the
conditions stated in your contract, see below).
Pharmacy and Optics
You have to pay the pharmacist, eyeglasses,
optometrist, etc directly and mail the invoice directly to your insurance
company. TCS is not involved.
For medications (e.g. antibiotic
type, anti-inflammatory drug, syrup etc) we advise that you buy
generic drugs, which are a lot cheaper. However, TCS is still not
involved.
Caution: please keep a copy of your
prescription as well as a proof of your payment which will be needed
for your refund.
Dental Care
TCS does not intervene except for
dentists and orthodontists from the TCS’s list, where a discount of
the total charge has being negotiated (Discount can go up to 50%, in
certain cases).
The dentists and orthodontists of
the TCS’ list are available in the following States (not in all
cities): CA, CD, FL, IT, MD, NY, PA, TX, and VA.
We now accept dentists with
Interplan Corp, BUT ONLY IN CALIFORNIA.
Be aware that for any dental care,
you must fax the ADA quote to your insurance in order for them to
evaluate the approximate reimbursement. By using TCS network you
will get a discount of the total charges. We will recommend the
amount you have to pay to TCS. The original claim will then be
returned to you so that you can submit your refund request to your
country’s insurance.
The difference
between the amount paid and the amount refunded can be significant.
Note:
Implants are not cover.
Orthodontist,
Endodental
Likewise for the dentist. Do
ask for a quote and send it to your French, Belgium, … Insurances.
Physical Therapy
Physical therapy is not covered on
the US territory except after a surgical procedure and for a limited
duration of 2 months. Besides this case, only 4 sessions per YEAR
will be granted by your country’s health insurance, and in all cases
you MUST advance the expenses.
Caution: `HOT PADS' will not be
covered. (No refunds).
The Chiropractors
Chiropractors are
not covered, because they are not recognized by the medical system
in France and other countries.
Occupation Therapy:
An authorization is necessary for all important physical therapies:
CVA, Loss of limb….
Acupuncturist:
Only a visit to a
certified MD acupuncturist can be refunded.
Psychiatrist:
 Only
a visit to a certified MD psychiatrist can be refunded.
Psychologist:
Are not cover or refunded because a psychologists
are not a Medical
Doctor ( MD).
Biological Acts:
For blood analyses, urines…. and after make a copy of your
prescription, IT IS NECESSARY TO TAKE an appointment at Lab Corp of
America or Quest Diagnostic. There are laboratories affiliated to
these two groups nation while.
AVOID THESE SAME EXAMINATIONS IN THE HOSPITALS (Invoices 2 times higher) except if you wish to advance the funds or of course in the event of admission by the first-aid organizations.
Radiological Acts, MRI, ultra sons, Scanner .....
:
You will find either on our short list (sent by email) or on our Internet site, option the network, the list of the approved centers.
AVOID THESE SAME EXAMINATIONS IN THE HOSPITALS (Invoices 2 times higher), except if you wish to advance the funds or of course in the event of admission by the first-aid organizations.
Maternity:
If you are pregnant
in the USA, you fall under your country’s legislation.
As soon as your
doctor finds you are pregnant, send a declaration of pregnancy to
your insurance company as soon as possible (you have three months),
and do not forget to call us.
Be aware that
under the French Medicare Law you are granted only 3 ultrasounds per
pregnancies. If more are needed, we need a MEDICAL reason.
After your child’s birth, do not
forget to send the certificate of birth to your INSURANCE COMPANY.
(You have 1 month).
FIV:
According to
the French Law, you are allowed only four FIV (Life time Max).
Wedding, Death or Any change
in your marital Status:
Let us
know and send all documents to your Insurance Company
REFUND:
Do not forget that the medical costs in
the United States are much higher than in France. The use of the
services and rules of TCS can decrease your co-pay. (Depending
of your Insurance Policy). All requests for refunding must be
addressed to your insurance company. Travel Care Services does
not refund any service charge.
IMPORTANT PRECISION:
The amount of co-pay
depends mainly on four MAJOR elements:
-Doctor in the network or
not
-The contract of your
mutual insurance company
-THE RATE OF EXCHANGE OF
THE EURO.
-The rate of French,
Belgium, German MEDICARE.
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