MEDOC travel coverage and H1N1

Issue: BCMJ, vol. 51, No. 9, November 2009, Page 405 News
By: Sandie Braid, CEBS

The H1N1 flu virus has resulted in uncertainty among travelers regarding the extent of their travel insurance coverage if they are infected. We asked Johnson Inc., provider of the MEDOC travel insurance plan for BCMA members, to respond to this concern. The following are some questions and answers from Johnson Inc. regarding H1N1.

If I get sick because of the H1N1 virus while I am traveling, am I still covered?
You may be covered under the terms and conditions of the policy, providing the sickness did not begin before your departure or booking and provided that Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada (FAITC) has not issued a travel warning.

Am I covered if I get the H1N1 virus while visiting a country, region, or area for which FAITC issues a travel warning following my departure?
You may be covered under the terms and conditions of the policy providing the sickness did not begin before your departure or booking and provided that the warning was issued after your date of departure. However, the coverage will only last for 10 days or a period that is reasonably necessary to safely evacuate after the warning has been issued. Any illness or injury unrelated to the travel warning would be covered under the terms and conditions of the policy. Should you become ill while traveling, contact the MEDOC Claims Assistance Centre (1 800 709-3420).

What happens if a travel warning is issued by FAITC after I have made my travel arrangements but before I have left on my trip?
Good news! If a travel warning is issued after you have made your travel arrangements you will be eligible for trip cancellation benefits as outlined in the MEDOC policy.

If I make travel arrangements after a travel warning has been issued by FAITC, am I covered if I want to cancel my trip or want to return home early?
No, you will not be eligible to claim trip cancellation, trip interruption, or medical benefits relating to the H1N1 virus for a trip arranged or taken after a travel warning due to the H1N1 virus has been issued.

Be sure to read your MEDOC policy carefully and review the exclusion restricting your travel insurance coverage when an advisory has been issued. For more information on travel warnings, please visit www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca. You can contact Johnson Inc. for more information by calling 1 866 606-3362 or visiting www.johnson.ca/medoc_c/.

—Sandie Braid, CEBS
BCMA Insurance Department

Sandie Braid, CEBS. MEDOC travel coverage and H1N1. BCMJ, Vol. 51, No. 9, November, 2009, Page(s) 405 - News.


Above is the information needed to cite this article in your paper or presentation. The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) recommends the following citation style, which is the now nearly universally accepted citation style for scientific papers:
Halpern SD, Ubel PA, Caplan AL, Marion DW, Palmer AM, Schiding JK, et al. Solid-organ transplantation in HIV-infected patients. N Engl J Med. 2002;347:284-7.

About the ICMJE and citation styles

The ICMJE is small group of editors of general medical journals who first met informally in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1978 to establish guidelines for the format of manuscripts submitted to their journals. The group became known as the Vancouver Group. Its requirements for manuscripts, including formats for bibliographic references developed by the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), were first published in 1979. The Vancouver Group expanded and evolved into the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), which meets annually. The ICMJE created the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals to help authors and editors create and distribute accurate, clear, easily accessible reports of biomedical studies.

An alternate version of ICMJE style is to additionally list the month an issue number, but since most journals use continuous pagination, the shorter form provides sufficient information to locate the reference. The NLM now lists all authors.

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For more information on the ICMJE Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals, visit www.icmje.org

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