1. What is Assist America?
Assist America is America's leading travel assistance company that offers services through employee benefits. Assist America provides emergency medical and personal assistance to members when they travel 100 miles or more away from home, domestically or internationally. If a member is injured or becomes ill, one simple phone call to Assist America gives them access to help anywhere in the world.
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2. What are the medical services that Assist America provides?
Assist America helps you during a medical situation while away from home by offering the following services: consultation and evaluation, medical referrals and medical monitoring. If you need to be hospitalized, and Assist America determines that the care you are receiving is not adequate for the medical incident, they will evacuate you to the nearest facility that offers appropriate care.
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3. Are there other services that I should know about?
Assist America also provides repatriation, emergency message transmission, care of minor children left unattended due to the medical incident, legal and interpreter referrals, prescription assistance and return of mortal remains.
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4. What happens if a foreign hospital doesn't recognize my health insurance identification card?
Assist America guarantees hospital admission. As necessary, they will forward funds to the hospital to ensure that you receive prompt medical treatment.
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5. Will Assist America transport a family member or friend to be at my side?
Yes. If you are traveling alone and it seems likely that you will be hospitalized for more than seven days, Assist America will transport a family member or friend to your location.
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6. What happens when I'm ready to be discharged but I still need assistance?
If you still need assistance at the point of discharge from the hospital, Assist America will arrange for you to come home with a medical or non-medical escort.
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7. I don't travel internationally. What's the benefit of this service to me?
Approximately 60% of Assist America's " P borders.< U.S. within occur assists?>
Remember, Assist America will help you with any medical situation if you are 100 miles or more from home -- this can mean your weekend fishing trip or traveling across the country to visit a relative. If you get injured or become ill while traveling, you may not know how to access care. Finding the nearest hospital in a big city or a remote town is not always easy. Just call Assist America -- they'll provide assistance and advice 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
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8. Are my spouse and children covered?
Yes, your spouse and minor children are eligible for services. Check with your health insurance guidelines for the definition of minor dependent children. Assist America excludes coverage for spouse business travel.
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9. If I am at home and my doctor tells me I need to go to a particular hospital that is more than 100 miles away to receive treatment, will Assist America transport me?
No. Assist America does not provide or reimburse for services it does not arrange. And, Assist America is for members who experience a medical or personal emergency when they are traveling 100 miles or more away from home, NOT for people who are traveling from home to receive medical care.
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10. If I get injured or become ill, and I or the hospital arrange for all the necessary transportation, will Assist America reimburse me for the expenses involved?
No. Assist America is a service provider, not an insurance company; therefore Assist America must make the arrangements for all services it reimburses.
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11. Does Assist America pay for my medical bills?
No. You or your health insurance plan is responsible for incurred medical expenses.
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12. Do I have to call Assist America before I leave on a trip?
No, this isn't necessary. Just be sure to take your Assist America card with you and call if you need emergency medical or personal assistance.
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13. How do I access care?
One phone call to a number on your Assist America member ID card gives you access to medical assistance anywhere in the world. With a worldwide network of pre-qualified medical providers and worldwide operational capabilities, Assist America brings medical assistance to you no matter where you are.
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1. How do I get Emergency Travel Assistance services for my company?
Emergency Travel Assistance from Assist America is made available as part Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada's Group Life program.
If you don't have Group Life from Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada, contact your broker and ask them to provide a Group Life quote. Or, contact your local Sun Life Financial Group Representative
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2. Do I have to change my company's health care plan to take advantage of Emergency Travel Assistance?
No -- as long as you have Group Life Insurance from Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada!
As a current customer, there is no need to change your health insurance plan or alter your benefits. The program works seamlessly with your health plan to validate coverage. If Assist America needs to advance funds for emergency medical treatment, they will apply directly to the insurer for reimbursement. All of the existing out-of-area and out-of-network provisions of your health plan still apply.
If you don't have Group Life insurance from Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada, contact your broker and ask them to provide a Group Life quote. Or, contact your local Sun Life Financial Group Representative.
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3. As a benefits administrator, what should I do about emergency travel assistance programs already offered by our health insurance plan?
To avoid confusion among employees, it's probably best to stick with one emergency travel assistance program. If all of your employees are not covered under a single health plan, but all have Group Life coverage from Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada, it may be advantageous to switch from your existing emergency travel assistance program to Assist America. That way, you'll be able to offer one program to all eligible employees, rather than just some of your employees.
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4. Who pays for Assist America services?
Assist America pays for 100% of the services it arranges for and provides. There are no chargebacks to the employee or employer.
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5. Is there a dollar limit on any of the services, such as medical air-evacuations and repatriations or returns of mortal remains?
There are no caps or limits on the amount spent for any services Assist America renders -- even on a medical air-evacuation that would typically cost between $30,000 and $70,000. In addition, Assist America does not subrogate against any insurance policies or require participants to go through a claims process to cover the cost of assistance.
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6. Why do employers need Emergency Travel Assistance and what are the benefits of having it?
Employers face a financial transport liability if employees become ill or are injured while they travel on company business. In addition to the financial concerns, managing the logistics for a medical emergency can be daunting -- even if the employee is traveling in the U.S.
The services Assist America provides are often the large, unbudgeted expenses that are not covered by any other employee benefit or insurance policy. Plus, Assist America takes care of making the complicated arrangements involved in any travel emergency.
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7. What makes Assist America better than other emergency travel assistance companies?
Assist America is proud to be a wholly American-owned company. As a comprehensive emergency travel assistance service, Assist America is committed to providing outstanding service to members. Service is available 24/7/365, anywhere in the world. Assist America Operation Center medical professionals are Western-trained and follow American emergency dispatch certified protocols when they assess medical need. Assist America provides American case management for all open cases.
Assist America's management leveraged their extensive domestic and international insurance industry knowledge and designed Assist America to offer its services through employee benefits. This strategy creates easy, economical access to services for members.
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8. How does Assist America qualify the more than 600,000 pre-qualified medical providers in their network?
In the U.S., Assist America incorporates highly respected and established networks of doctors and hospitals into its own database of medical providers. For doctors and hospitals outside the U.S., Assist America maintains detailed records of Western-trained doctors and well-equipped facilities all over the world. These records are updated periodically to ensure that all information is current and accurate.
When analyzing a medical provider, Assist America considers the credentials of the medical practitioners, years in practice, and languages spoken. Assist America also evaluates the facility, available diagnostic equipment.
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