• 18
  Mar
  2011

• International Health Insurance for Baseball Fans Visiting the U.S. for Spring Training

  
  Filed Under: Blogging
  Author: Blog Contributor
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While baseball is often called "the national pastime" in the United States, but the game has fans worldwide. And every year, fans from around the world descend upon the states of Florida and Arizona in the U.S. to watch baseball's "spring training." If you plan on visiting the United States to watch your favorite team's spring training, you will want to be sure to come prepared with international health insurance.

During spring training, baseball teams get ready for the upcoming season with workouts and exhibition games against other teams. It gives teams a chance to determine which players will be ready to contribute to the club in the coming year, and it gives fans the chance to see both their favorite players and new players, while doing so in sunny vacation-friendly locales. For those reasons, it is a popular vacation theme for travelers.

What you should keep in mind while planning your trip is the need to have medical care coverage. Because illness or injury can occur at any time with little or no warning, it is critical that you have immediate access to the best available medical treatment. The U.S. healthcare system demands anyone without medical insurance to pay for their care completely out of their own pocket.

Therefore, what starts out as a relaxing vacation could turn into a very expensive dilemma. International health insurance was designed to combat this scenario. It covers the majority of medical treatment costs, protecting you from bills totaling in the hundreds or thousands of dollars. It is widely accepted, so you do not need to worry about network restrictions or other such problems, and it offers you and your companions valuable peace of mind during your travels.

• 01
  Feb
  2012

• New Tests on Airports Scanners to Be Conducted By TSA

  
  Filed Under: Blogging
  Author: YourGuy
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For several years there has been talk about radiation from airport scanner but the Transportation Security Administration or TSA have continued to turn a blind eye to these “rumors.” That is, until this month, January 2012 when TSA finally decided to test airport security officers for radiation exposure.  Imagine being a frequent traveler, local or international and having to pass these scanners repeatedly without choice. Doesn’t it make it imperative to have international travel health insurance? Technically, you are en route to your destination so radiation exposure could be included in your international health insurance. It’s worth checking on with your provider.
It might also concern you that just last December 2011, TSA required all government vendors to have equipment that would measure radiation exposure. The spokesman for TSA, Nico Melendez said, “TSA is dedicated to the health and safety of its employees. We continuously test our technology to ensure it is safe for both passenger and our officers, and post all results to our website.”
The problems critics have with this policy of not determining radiation levels in airport scanners is that these machines can malfunction, and have done so many times in the past year alone. This implies that radiation exposure could be at a level that isn’t safe. James Babb who co-founded the group, We Won’t Fly says that, “We still have no idea how much radiation is being imposed on travelers by a properly functioning machine. A malfunctioning machine could be particularly nasty.”  This consumer rights group wants an independent body to do the tests on the machines and not just on security personnel who worked with the scanners. However, they do accept that the TSA is moving forward by recognizing that there may be a potential hazard that needs to be addressed properly.

• 24
  Jan
  2012

• The Mystery Behind Flight From Cuba

  
  Filed Under: Blogging
  Author: YourGuy
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The strange mystery of flights coming out of Cuba and ending up with passengers getting sick even before reaching their destination is starting to get scary. The flight from Cuba to Toronto a day ago reported 12 people sick by the time the plane landed in Canada. This would be the 4th time such an incident has happened. Fortunately for some, they had sufficient international travel health insurance to cover their treatment. But what the others passengers without insurance? Without international health insurance, they would have unexpected out-of-pocket expenses and not even know why it happened.

Public officials in Canada have already raised the alarm and announced that the nature of the sickness was gastrointestinal illness. During the flight, passengers began to experience dizziness and diarrhea. They also had fever and nausea.

According to public health officials, everyone on the flight had to be examined although no one was rushed to the hospital. They are currently investigating food sources on the airplane and from resorts in Cuba. A common thread is the 4 resorts many of the Canadian tourists stayed in while in Cuba.

The timeline for past incidents for this past week alone as released by the Canadian authorities or the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) are:

Tuesday – 7 passengers fell ill
Thursday – 20 passengers got sick
Friday – 12 got sick

There has been no quarantine or epidemic declared but all flights from Cuba are under the strictest surveillance. One passenger did report getting sick while in Cuba because of a suspected seafood meal. Most of her time in Cuba was spent in bed, sick and vomiting. Along with her, she reports that there were around 10 other tourists in the same resort with similar problems.

• 15
  Jan
  2012

• Red Wine Health Hoax?

  
  Filed Under: Blogging
  Author: YourGuy
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A researcher from the University of Connecticut, Dipak Das is being accused of fabrication and falsification of data regarding the use of grape pulp and delaying the aging process. Since this research was done several years and has been published in medical journals, the word has spread that resveratrol which is found in grape pulp and skin is going to make you live longer. Anyone who has believed it may have used it as an excuse not to take meds or get international health insurance. Frequent travelers are advised that if they drunk red wine to avoid getting international travel health insurance, they should reconsider.

The sad part about this whole situation is that not everyone who read this hype about red wine will read this report, and keep drinking red wine under a false assumption. According to the university’s VP for Health Affairs, ““We have a responsibility to correct the scientific record and inform peer researchers across the country.”
The investigation into this falsified research began almost 4 years ago and the results have just been released. It accounts for more than 145 incidents of falsification and fabrication of data. Others who may have been involved in the “lie” are being investigated as well.

In response to this allegation, Dipak Das, he says a conspiracy is being launched against him. He says that his work has been confirmed and “repeated by many scientists all over the world.” He added that, “As you know, because of the development of tremendous amount of stress in my work environment in recent months, I became a victim of stroke for which I am undergoing treatment.”

Nonetheless, the university is working on proceedings to have him dismissed and they have notified the medical journals that have published his research about the results of the investigation. The grant from the federal government amounting to $890,000 has been withheld by the school.

In defense of Das, another researcher from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Dr. Nir Barzilai said that, “There are many investigators who are working on resveratrol.  That doesn’t mean we know the whole truth. But Rome wasn’t built on Dr. Das.”