Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
MEDICAL INSURANCE
For travel overseas, most U.S. health
plans (including Medicare and Medicaid)
do not provide coverage, and the ones
that do often require you to pay for serv-
ices upfront and reimburse you only after
you return home. As a safety net, you
may want to buy travel medical insur-
ance, particularly if you're traveling to a
remote or high-risk area where emergency
evacuation might be necessary. If you
require additional medical insurance, try
MEDEX Assistance
(
&
410/453-6300;
www.medexassist.com) or
Travel Assis-
tance International
(
&
800/821-2828;
www.travelassistance.com; for general
information on services, call the com-
pany's Worldwide Assistance Services,
Inc., at
&
800/777-8710
).
LOST-LUGGAGE INSURANCE
On international flights (including U.S.
portions of international trips), baggage
coverage is limited to approximately $9.07
per pound, up to approximately $635 per
checked bag. If you plan to check items
more valuable than what's covered by the
standard liability, see if your homeowner's
policy covers your valuables, get baggage
insurance as part of your comprehensive
travel-insurance package, or buy Travel
Guard's “BagTrak” product.
If your luggage is lost, immediately file
a lost-luggage claim at the airport, detail-
ing the luggage contents. Most airlines
require that you report delayed, damaged,
or lost baggage within 4 hours of arrival.
The airlines are required to deliver lug-
gage, once found, directly to your house
or destination free of charge.
6 Health & Safety
STAYING HEALTHY
Staying healthy during a trip to Eastern
Europe requires common sense and an
ounce of prevention. No vaccinations are
necessary to visit Eastern Europe and diges-
tive upsets are visitors' biggest health chal-
lenges. It is safest to stick with bottled
water everywhere.
GENERAL AVAILABILITY OF
HEALTHCARE
Hospitals and pharmacies are available in
all Eastern European countries, but the
quality of treatments and drugs varies
widely, even within a single country. Con-
sult individual country chapters for spe-
cific information.
If you plan to visit forested areas in the
summer or if you choose to consume
unpasteurized dairy products, you put
yourself at risk for tick-borne infections.
According for the Centers for Disease
Control (CDC), tick-borne encephalitis,
a viral infection of the central nervous
system, has been reported in Russia, the
Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and
Slovenia, so take precautions against tick
bites if you visit these countries.
In general, the CDC warns travelers
not to eat food purchased from street
vendors or undercooked food to reduce
risk of hepatitis A and typhoid fever. Do
not drink beverages with ice if the water
supply is suspect. Avoid unpasteurized
dairy products. Don't swim in fresh water
to avoid exposure to waterborne diseases.
Don't handle animals, especially mon-
keys, dogs, and cats, to avoid bites and
rabies and plague. Do not share needles
for tattoos, body piercing, or injections.
HIV and hepatitis B are global hazards.
Avoid poultry farms, bird markets, and
other places where live poultry is raised or
kept.
Contact the
International Associa-
tion for Medical Assistance to Travelers
(IAMAT)
(
&
716/754-4883,
or 416/
652-0137 in Canada;
www.iamat.org
)
for tips on travel and health concerns in
the countries you're visiting, and for lists
of local, English-speaking doctors. The
