Illnesses on vacation can pose immense financial burdens for travelers in popular vacation destinations like Egypt, Turkey, or the USA, warns the ADAC. The costs for medical treatments abroad have risen drastically in recent years, and without travel health insurance, vacationers often have to pay high bills directly on site. The ADAC shows how such cost traps can be avoided.
In Egypt, the costs for outpatient treatments increased by 26.4 percent within a year, in Turkey by 11 percent and in the United Arab Emirates by 23.1 percent. For comparison: In Germany, the increase was only 3.9 percent. Especially in countries without a regulated fee schedule like the German GOÄ, inflated bills are often presented. For example, in Egypt, the treatment of gastritis with infusions in a hotel clinic cost 3,850 euros, while a comparable diarrhea treatment in Germany costs 35 to 75 euros. In Egypt, the costs ranged from 740 to 1,220 euros.
Examples illustrate the problem: In the USA, the treatment of a laceration after a fall cost 13,700 euros. In Egypt, a bill of 21,650 euros was issued for a medically simple elbow fracture, as unnecessary additional treatments were performed. In the USA, an arm fracture cost 17,460 euros, and in Canada, a hand fracture cost 13,500 euros – payable immediately in each case.
In emergencies, many vacationers resort to hotel doctors or recommendations from staff, which drives up costs. On average, the costs for outpatient treatments in Egypt are 800 euros, in the USA and Austria 500 euros, while in Germany they are 200 euros. Without travel health insurance, travelers are left to bear these costs, as statutory health insurance funds provide little or no coverage outside the EU and do not cover repatriation.
The ADAC strongly recommends taking out travel health insurance that covers the costs of outpatient and inpatient treatments as well as repatriation. Additionally, the ADAC offers a travel medicine information service, through which certified doctors are provided in 75 countries. Before traveling, vacationers should check policies that are valid worldwide, including the USA and Canada, as treatment costs are particularly high there.
