An Ontario family says they were shocked when their daughter needed an emergency appendectomy in Mexico 鈥� a surgery that came with a staggering $46,000 price tag.
Fortunately, the family had purchased insurance mere days before the trip and their physician says the story serves as a cautionary tale for Canadian travellers who go abroad.
Last week, eight-year-old Hannah began complaining about stomach pain during a family trip at a resort in Puerto Vallarta, her mother told CTVNews.ca.
Minal and her husband, who asked that their last names be withheld as they deal with insurance, took Hannah to the resort鈥檚 on-site doctor. They were then referred to a local private hospital.
鈥淎s parents, we were both really freaked out because we鈥檙e in a foreign country [and] we don鈥檛 speak the language,鈥� she said, adding she was grateful her doctors spoke English.
The Oakville, Ont. mother said they charged approximately $4,000 on their credit card to pay for the first CT scan.
Hannah was quickly taken into surgery after doctors diagnosed her with appendicitis -- an inflammation of the appendix that can be life-threatening if the organ bursts.
Minal called the ordeal a 鈥渂ig eye-opener鈥� because nearly everything -- blood tests, nurse consultations, and even, choosing a hospital room -- needed to be cleared with their insurance company.
The family typically doesn鈥檛 purchase travel health insurance, so she was relieved that before the trip, her husband purchased a plan that covered their daughter too.
鈥淚 have to say, in retrospect, thank God,鈥� she said, adding that she didn鈥檛 appreciate how much the ordeal would have cost without insurance, until they had returned back to Canada.
MANY PARENTS 'DON'T TAKE OUT TRAVEL INSURANCE'
Their family doctor, Dr. Rick MacDonald, called the $46,000 price tag 鈥渆xtraordinary鈥� and 鈥渇airly excessive.鈥�
鈥淲hen they told me the price I literally fell onto the floor,鈥� he said in a phone interview with CTVNews.ca from an Oakville, Ont. clinic.
鈥淏ut that鈥檚 the kind of thing you鈥檙e going to have to expect because you鈥檙e in a predicament where you don鈥檛 have much of a choice,鈥� MacDonald said. 鈥淚f your appendix ruptures, then you鈥檙e in big trouble.鈥�
On Tuesday, he used Hannah鈥檚 story to warn his followers of the dangers of travelling outside of Canada without flight cancellation insurance and medical insurance.
鈥淢any of our patients travel all the time and I鈥檓 sure that many of them don鈥檛 take out travel insurance,鈥� he told CTVNews.ca. 鈥淚鈥檓 sure most people don鈥檛 do it.鈥�
Minal said the whole ordeal has 鈥渁bsolutely鈥� changed how she鈥檒l travel going forward. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think I will ever travel for pleasure again without having travel medical insurance -- especially with kids.鈥�
APPENDICITIS HORROR STORIES ABOUND: DOCTOR
But the situation could鈥檝e been a lot worse.
MacDonald recalled an incident involving an eight-year-old patient who was diagnosed with appendicitis while on a cruise trip with his family near the Caribbean. He had to wait until they reached a nearby port in the order to be treated.
鈥淎nd by the time he had got to [the surgeon], he had a ruptured appendicitis,鈥� he said. After two week-long stays in two different hospitals including one in Miami, the family ended up paying an 鈥渁tmospheric鈥� amount but MacDonald couldn鈥檛 recall exactly how much.
Plenty of other travelling Canadians have had trouble dealing with insurance companies recently.
In February, David Ronald was seriously injured in Costa Rica where he claims he was stranded for six days waiting for his insurer to find an open hospital bed in Canada.
The 58-year-old underwent two surgeries in Costa Rica after a catastrophic fall left him with a shattered pelvis, broken arm and broken back on Feb. 15. He and his wife said their insurer told them no beds were available in Canada. He was later airlifted home.
