Hey guys
I've never posted on this forum before because my husband is from Ireland, but I was hoping you guys could help us out with something. We are planning a trip to Russia this summer. For non-citizens going into Russia, I know you need some kind of medical insurance to cross the border. For those of you who are non-Russian citizens who have visited there, how does this work? Does my usual HMO cover it? Do we need letters of proof? Do they really check this out? Any and all advice about travelling to Russia would be appreciated! TIA!

Your HMO MAY cover you overseas, I did not check with my medical insurance, I found a travel insurance policy that was only $15 for the 8 days I was traveling...

They did not check this information in Vladivostok, where I entered Russia and I had no problems though I spent my time with my (then) future wife in her home town and in Vladivostok.

I wish I could return and visit other places such as St. Pete's or Moscow but Olga's immigration had all our disposable income occupied atm.

As for advice about traveling there, it would be helpful to know what part you were planning on visiting since I could help with the far east but am clueless about the rest of Russia.

Also not sure how much, if any Russian you know but the immigration forms (similar to the US form I-94) were only available in Russian but there was a man there with me that said in Moscow he was able to get these forms in English.

We are going to St Petersburg and Moscow. We're actually going on an 'easy pace' tour, so we've got a lot of free time, but are already scheduled to see some of the bigger attractions.
I will look into the travel insurance, I would rather spend the extra $30 and know it would be accepted. The one offered with the tour group was over $100 each, so I assumed others would be too. Thanks for telling me otherwise!
I have looked at the visa applications and the one for US citizens I found was in English, the one my EU-citizen husband will have to fill out is in Russian, but has the English translation in all the boxes he needs to write in.

I called my provider up and ask. They said yes. I asked what I needed to be aware of, what I needed to take, and US phone number that could be reached internationally. I'm USC.

Wow, I didn't know you need medical insurance to enter Russia! I've traveled to Russia 5 different times over the past 8 years, and never once was asked if I had insurance. I really doubt the insurance I have through my employer would cover me in Russia anyway.

You know what's funny and a little bit scary? I was on one of my trips to Russia for 10 days in August, 2004, and only about 2 days after I arrived back in America I had terrible abdominal pains.... I went to the emergency room, and it turned out I had a ruptured appendix! I had an appendectomy and everything was fine, but wow - if that had happened a few days earlier when I was in Russia it would have been a disaster! From what I've heard about hospitals in Russia I'd be nervous to go in for a routine checkup, let alone go under the knife for surgery. ....but I bet it's really not that bad, and if you bring enough cash with you for bribes you can certainly get top-notched care.

IMHO the real question is this: each person needs to ask "If I leave the US, what will I do if something happens to me and I need medical attention?" You do not need to have an acute condition for things to happen. You can be very healthy; you can go on a tour as I did once and get food poisoning; you could slip on ice in Russia and break something; the list goes on. So we're talking of managing risk. You leave the US, medical attention is an unknown for you. So how will you manage the risk? Will you need it? Probably not. However, what are you doing to do if the risk event happens? That's what you've got to figure out for yourself and those with you.

Could you give me a source for this. This is the first time I have ever heard of Russia requiring insurance to enter. It is a very common requirement for Russian citizens entering Europe, but never heard of it the other way around. No such requirement exists on the Russian consulate website geared towards US citizens entering Russia.

Medical care in most parts of Russia is very cheap. We are talking a $15 for a hospital stay a day and even less for a doctor's visit and medicine. It's not like in the US or Western Europe. But you'll need to be with a Russian speaker to get this rate. So a policy that charges you more than $15 a day might not be worth it, unless it covers a full blown evacuation back to your home country, meaning a very serious injury or illness.

Ditto.

That's probably your tour company trying to scare you into purchasing their $100 policy.

"You MUST have medical coverage inside of Russia. Russian law requires this. To better serve you, we offer a policy for the deeply-discounted price of only $100 per tourist."

HOGWASH!!!!

In reality, the Russians could care less if you have insurance or not. Whether or not you need it, is up to you. There are very cheap policies out there (after all, they're only covering you for a few days) so if you really would feel more comfortable with coverage, get it through something like AAA or even call your credit card company (AMEX is awesome for travel insurance... something like $15/week for evacuation coverage and everything.) to see what they have for travel coverage policies.

When I went, I had nothing. I did have a couple hundred bucks though, and in Russia, that's pretty much all you need for any kind of insurance.

I have been to Russia 15-20 times and have never been asked if I had insurance. I have never had anything special and have no idea if my HMO would cover me there or not. I think this is not something to worry about unless someone has a medical condition to add to the risk.

I have never been asked for proof of medical insurance when I went to Russia, neither have I seen this requirement ever mentioned anywhere....

I use a travel insurance company...for a small amount of money I get over a million in life insurace, couple $100,000.00 medical, and one of the most important...evacuation coverage so I could be flown to an American hospital out of Russia, coverage included to fly a family member to the medical facility that I would be in, lost baggage, ticket refund, etc.
I think all of this for 15 days is about $160.00
PM me if you want to know the name of the company...and I am in no way affiliated with the company except to purchase insurance...they're also on Delta Airlines site.
Always register with the US State Department also ..they'll know you're in Russia and can handle emergency contacts to you or your family members.

bruc

I'm sure you are right that it is just the company trying to scare us into getting insurance. The only place I saw that requirement was on the form they sent us. The actual consulate website and visa application doesn't mention it. But to be on the safe side, I'm going to do one of those $15 travel insurance programs. The tour company clearly states that if you aren't allowed into the country for any reason you get no refund, so I'd rather have something than not just in case its true and they check every once in awhile. Plus, if something did happen to us, I'm sure it would make things easier!
Thanks for the help

I use Medjet Assist... It's not really insurance but if you are hospitalized in some strange land ie. Russia you can opt for a flight back home to your hospital of choice. The important point here is that it is your choice and not that of an insurance company or a doctor, unless your medical condition prevents you from being moved. Rates are not bad... $225 for one year of coverage.

http://www.medjetassistance.com/


Fortunately I've never had to test it

I've only been once and I was not asked about insurance but the policy I had was the evacuation policy and $15 for the 10 days I was outside of the US was not terribly expensive and worth it for the peace of mind.... better safe then sorry!

Travel insurance is generally a good idea for any high-priced vacation. However, buy it because you recognize the need and want to buy it, not because of a scam run by a tour operator.

My fiance is from Vladimir Russia. I was there in Jan 07 for 8 days and March for 14 days 07. I will be going in May for 3 months. I bought insurance from Travalex for the first two times. After the fact, I read US citizens do not need medical insurance. The agency I got my visa from always told leave that question blank on visa application. Now I know why. But if you want insurance, I think I payed 50 or 60 bucks per trip.

Actually there are many good medical centers in Russia and most of them are covered by various insurance companies. No horrors whatsoever, very competent staff. What you've heard of probably pertains to the remaining state-sponsored institutions where the poorer Russians still go. Most of my friends and I, however, prefer paid medical care - and it's not that expensive.

Lst time i went I had to send into the counsel a copy of insurance for foreign travel before i got the visa. It was cheap thopugh.

I think I paid $30. I already have insurance, but in a real emergency, I'd want to be flown back to the US. (Plan on this costing ~$100,000, so plan accordingly).