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Good morning,
This maybe is off topic but it doesn’t seem as lighthearted as the topics I saw in the “OFF TOPIC” section of this blog site. I am feeling discriminated against and I want to rail a bit. But also, perhaps this is something that BCC can consider working on to improve the lives of those of us who want to travel despite our cancer diagnosis.Hubby and I went to arrange some annual travel insurance; we are both retired, have a big trip planned for late in the summer and will want to travel now and then during the year to visit with family in different parts of Canada. We started filling out the form on the website for the insurer that works with CARP (the Canadian Association of Retired People) as we are members. Everything was going happily along until we got to the item of whether one has been diagnosed or treated with cancer in the last X number of months.
Well, guess what- – when you have Bladder Cancer, this applies to YOU!!!.
It doesn’t matter that Bladder Cancer is a slow-growing, non-metasticizing form of cancer.
It doesn’t matter that (I think, unless the cancer spreads into the bladder walls), there is little chance of life-threatening symptoms that are going to effect you on your travels.
It doesn’t matter that the treatment (for the most part in mild cases such as mine) involves an occasional day-surgery scraping and out you go onto your normal life.
It doesn’t matter that skin-cancer (that just involves an occasional day-visit to the doctor’ office for a nitrogen-gun zap-off/scraping and out you go onto your normal life) – – and that Tomoxafin-treated diagnosis of breast cancer – – are both “exempt” – – that is, these don’t “count” as “CANCER” in terms of this insurance company’s decision as to whether you pay a high or low price for Travel Health insurance (or are accepted at all).NO – my bladder cancer (as mild and occasionally life-disrupting as it is) is raising my insurance cost several hundreds of dollars and bumps me down to a lower level of coverage. End of story – – no chance of explaining this to the computer (or the rule-chanting service worker at the end of your phone line – – this is the position of head office…….). DRAT AND HOW UNFAIR.
Me thinks the travel insurance industry needs some education and help in learning to discriminate between, say, cancer of the lungs or ovaries, bowel or other internal organs and the lower-life-threatingness of bladder cancer.
Has anyone else faced this situation? Has BCC tried to inform these folks in the past (to no avail???) ? Is this something to try to change?
I look forward to your comments and wish you all a happy summer! 🙂Hi there LM, I can relate. CAA won’t sell you travel insurance either if there is any history of cancer in your health record. I got nailed by them after being a member there for many years. And, get this, they told me to go to Blue Cross across the street; they will sell it to you, but won’t cover you for anything that happens that’s cancer related. That was fine with me because there were no concerns that anything related to cancer was likely to happen, but if I stumbled and broke a leg, or took a heart attack, I would be covered, (provided I didn’t already have a bad heart, which I didn’t). That was six years ago and I’m still here.
Needless to say, I dropped CAA like a hot potato when they did this to me. As far as Roadside Assistance they provide, when I bought my car, that came with the deal, so I didn’t need CAA for anything thank you.
You could try Blue Cross and see if you have better luck with them. I haven’t done any travelling outside the country since, so their policy may have changed. The only place we travel to now is Newfoundland and Ontario. My doctor told me that Nova Scotia and Newfoundland have a reciprocal agreement about treating out of province residents. I’m not sure about Ontario, but if we decide to travel there again, I think I will check that out.
A cancer diagnosis is definitely a life-changing experience in more ways than one, that’s for sure. I believe people who worked for the federal government have the gold-plated medical coverage that covers everything at home and abroad; for the rest of us, I guess we lucked out.
Try Blue Cross and let us know how you’re treated over there. Good luck with it. I would hate to see you stop travelling all together because you can’t get travel insurance.
Lorraine
Good luck with it and I hope you don’t have to stop travelling because of this.
Hi LM
I will forward your post to Tammy our Executive Director not sure if BCC can assist in this area of insurance.
Insurance companies seem to lump all cancers together which in my mind is incorrect.
In my case I did have a heart attack in 2014. Not 1 insurance company would supply me with travel insurance until 6 months after the heart attack even though it was 1 artery that was the problem and had been corrected with 3 stents, really very little damage to my heart. All of them told me the same thing, that a heart attack was a heart attack therefore no coverage. That’s why I think they just lump all cancers together and simply say that cancer is cancer which we all know their are many variations of cancer including many variations of bladder cancer.
All the best,
JackHi Jack,
Well, not all cancers ARE alike. Think of cancer of the pancreas – – you MIGHT get 6 months if you are lucky. Prostrate cancer, once diagnosed, might be with you a long long time with no serious pain or complications. And to think they will insure women with a diagnosis of breast cancer if they are on Tomoxifin??? REALLY????? I think the breast cancer organizations have done their salesman (saleswomen) work to educate these pencil pushers. Aparently people with type O blood are at a much lower risk of heart disease than the other blood type; does one get a discount if one has type O blood but not if one has A or B or AB? Where is the evidence-based statistics button for insurance rates?Thanks, Jack, for carrying the message up the line; it will be interesting to see if any of these pencil-pushers are willing to consider the evidence. And thanks for the heads-u about Blue Cross, Shelties; I WILL check it out. 🙂
Thanks for the heads up, LM. We’re planning a trip for the fall, so if anyone out there has a good experience with an insurer let us know! We have used The Cooperators in the past (before diagnosis). They have good rates and a discount for MEC members, but we’ve never had to make a claim so don’t know how that would go.
OK, Shelties, I called Blue Cross in Ontario.
According to Phillip, if the person is under age 55, a diagnosis and recent (within a year) treatment of Bladder Cancer WILL NOT RAISE their travel insurance rates. However, if the person is over 55, IT WILL raise their rates (as would a diagnosis of skin cancer unless this skin cancer is very limited – – I didn’t go into details about what that might ential). So, being OVER 55, our mutual diagnosis puts me in the higher-premium group no matter how mild the BC is. DARN.
While hubby has already signed on (at the higher price) to the insurer we have used in the past, I am going to explore this further. I mean, I can understand the insurer not wanting to pay for any sudden treatment stemming from a pre-existing condition, but when you only have to go in and be checked every 6 months, and maybe have a scraping (I know there is a technical word or anacronym for this but it isn’t coming to mind right now) once every year, why should that cause a penalty? Gee, I know folks who have to have bunions cut off more often than that (LOL). Ah well, another day and another new experience with the cancer that won”t usually kill you and no one will talk about it………. 🙂Hello all. In January 2013, at age 52, I was diagnosed with Stage 2 BC, and had an RC with Neo in June 2013. Been cancer free since. No other active health issues. In 2014, just over a year after my surgery and cancer free status, my wife and I traveled to Europe for 3 weeks. Last summer we went to Newfoundland. So far this year, we have been to NYC and Florida, and are planning our summer travels right now.
Each time I arranged extra coverage through Manulife’s Cover Me TravelEase program. Manulife provides our family’s benefit plan through her work. If I remember right my three week trip coverage was about $300, compared to my wife’s $50. I fully disclosed my medical history, including my current meds for high cholesterol. They agreed to cover me, with up to $5 mil in coverage, in the highly unlikely event that anything would happen. At this point, my only fear is the onset of infection from retaining urine in my neo, which would quickly put me in hospital. Hasn’t happened since shortly after my surgery. But it was good to travel with peace of mind, even if it did cost me a little more. Whey did they cover me? Perhaps because I am in my 50’s still, or that I am cancer free with no ongoing issues, I am not sure, but thought I would put that out there. Perhaps it is worth a call to them to get a quote.
Hope this leads to happy traveling!
GordA friend was looking into mortgage insurance after having some cancer-related news during a routine checkup. This forum appears to be one of the few Canadian sources of discussion on insurance issues and experiences related to cancer and pre-cancer diagnoses. Here is one article that I came across….
I am going to first check the BCC forums for feedback on cancer-related insurability news.
Kingston and the 1000 Islands
Thanks for this everyone. I’m planning a trip to Hawaii in February and will double check this. We have purchased travel health insurance and I don’t think that there were any medical questions other than if a pre-existing condition is not stable at the time of your trip and you have issues then it may not be covered otherwise you are fine.
I hope that Bladder Cancer Canada can look into this for us and who knows maybe a carrier will come up with a special policy for cancer survivors????
Hello
Try Group Medical Services. You can go on their website and get a quote. You are not automatically denied just because you have cancer. Great way to know what you are up against for insurance and premiums. Suggest doing it sooner rather than later in case there is sticker shock at the premium price.
Cheryl
Seems pretty clear to me, Blue Cross will not cover if you have had an RC within 2 years, and if you are being treated for cancer, TURBTs and cystoscopies would be included in these. Conclusion, travel in our beautiful Canada, or go elsewhere with lots of ready cash!
OK folks, I got up my gumption today when I had a check-up with my Urologist (who says everything looks fine – hooray), and asked him where I could go with this poorer/more-expensive travel insurance issue. He suggested I write to the Canadian Urology Assn.
While the receptionist at CUA wasn’t sure anyone there would deal with this concern, she asked that I write a letter on the issue and see where it goes. So, I did.
If there also is someone specific at BCC that I could direct this quetion to, please let me know and I will forward this (or a similar letter) to them. I do feel it is undue institutional discrimination based on medical assumptions that are not fully considered.
Your comments, please. Here is what I wrote:Good afternoon,
Today at a meeting with my Urologist, I discussed the following with him and he suggested I direct this question to your association. While it does not directly relate to a medical concern, treatment issue, or complaint about a particular practicioner, I think having your association aware of, and hopefully involved with, rectifying this issue (which could confront each and every patient diagnosed with bladder cancer) would be helpful.
The concern I am raising is that I, as someone who has been diagnosed with bladder cancer, have been denied the best and most reasonable-cost travel insurance merely because of this diagnosis (it is the only diagnosis of cancer that I have). The part of the application form where the issue of cancer arises stipulates that if one has skin cancer, such a diagnosis will not count against you in terms of obtaining the best level of travel insurance. However, no such exception is made for bladder cancer patients.
Now, I know a number of individuals with skin cancer; this is not something that generally metasticizes, and the typical treatment is a visit with the Dermatologist a few times a year to have these cancers scraped or chemically burned off followed by daily home use of ointments and sunscreen. Skin cancer is not going to cause a heart attack or imbalance problem or breathing difficulties or headaches, increased vulnerability to infection or other problems leading to an emergency hospital visit when traveling. How much does this differ from low-level bladder cancer which also does not metasticize and treatment involves a visit with a Urologist a few times a year to check for problems and, at least typically, just a scraping now and then at a scheduled appointment time in the Operating Room. Low level bladder cancer, as far as I can understand, is not going to cause broad health difficulties or sudden health issues at any time (whether at home or while travelling). And yet, the insurance industry seems to have placed anyone with this condition (at any level of disease) in the same dump category with all those cancers which DO metasticize and CAN cause sudden health issues while traveling.
The result is higher cost and lower level of coverage all because of this diagnosis (and consumer honesty) with no right of appeal.
This is not just the case with one insurer. After my traditional insurance company (promoted by The Canadian Assn of Retired People, CARP) refused me the insurance package I have been able to arrange for years (offering only a more expensive and less-coverage plan), I phoned several other travel insurance purveyors and the answer was the same. Given their exemption of skin cancer patients, I see this as pure discrimination likely based on ignorance or prejudice. This is where your association comes in.
For the millions of bladder cancer patients, is it possible for you, as an organization of Urologists, to correct the understanding of the insurance industry about the viability of bladder cancer patients traveling, to place pressure on them to ask further questions of an applicant to clarify if the bladder cancer is low level or serious (the vulnerability being considerably different in each case)? Is it possible for someone in your organization to make it clear to the health insurance actuaries that indivudlas with low level bladder cancer are no more than anyone else their age vulnerable to health complications or risks while away from home? And if not your organization, then where can patients like myself go to achieve this correction? One would think the insurance industry would listen to a major professional organization of specialists in this field of medicine than an individual (or even a group) of patients.
Thank you for your consideration of this issue.
Sincerely,
LM
Hi LM
If you wish to send this letter to Bladder Cancer Canada, send to: info at bladdercancercanada.org attention Tammy Northam. I am not sure if anything can be done.
All the best,
JackHas anyone had to make a claim with the federal government medical coverage. I would like to hear of their experience. I am also wondering if I should be getting extra coverage as the federal gov covers us for 500K and I’m sure if there was an emergency in another country, it would be a lot more costly for medical.
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