Escapees March/April 2016

Basin and Range National Monument, Nevada. Photo by Rene Agredano.

SPECIAL BIRTHDAY FEATURE

“Because we often camp in extremely remote places, Jim and I are usually far from medical care.”

A smart buy for RVers

By Rene Agredano #103274

Because we often camp in extreme- ly remote places, Jim and I are usually far from medical care. For eight years, Lady Luck has been on our side, until recently when we had two non-emer- gency situations that needed a health care provider. Lessons Learned from Health Care on the Road Last January, while snowbirding in the California desert, I came down with a familiar but minor condition that required an antibiotic. Unfortunately, checking into the nearest strip-mall “Minute Clinic” wasn’t realistic. The closest facility was almost two hours away. Instead, I endured a four-hour

As self-employed people, lackluster health insurance is something my husband, Jim, and I have lived with for the last 20 years. If we ever had to really use our individual Blue Cross health plan, the $11,000 deductible would hurt, so we do our best to stay healthy. And now that Blue Cross and other health insurance providers have eliminated PPO health insurance plans that enabled full-time RVers like us to get health care anywhere, staying healthy is even more critical.

Long-distance Medical Care for Full-time RVers? Recently we called Kyle Henson of RVer Insurance Exchange to discuss health insurance changes. Yes, the situation is bad for full-time RVers, he explained, but work-arounds exist. One of them is a monthly telemedicine service called Teladoc, provided by a company called Careington ( www. rverinsurance.com/telemedicine ). It requires a $12.95 monthly subscrip- tion, but it seemed like a smart buy for full-time RVers because: • You can contact them by phone or go online anytime to schedule a long-dis- tance phone or video consultation with a U.S.-licensed doctor.

• The physician will ask questions to help you decide if your symptoms are minor enough to manage on your own, or serious enough to seek urgent care. • The doctor can prescribe and order non-narcotic medications through your nearest pharmacy. • Careington also has dental and vision discounts, as well as health and well- ness guidance with online webinars, newsletters and more.

“Within one month of registering, Teladoc came in handy while we were camped out in Death Valley, and I was hit with a sudden illness that scared me…”

34 . ESCAPEES | March/April 2016 | www.escapees.com