I had a Medjet annual plan, and it wont' happen again. In all of its marketing materials, Medjet claims it has "no medical necessity clause" for medical evacuations. They want you to believe that they will fly you home or to a hospital of your choice at the discretion of the member. READ THE FINE PRINT! First of all, Medjet won't perform an evac unless you are hospitalized as an inpatient -- this certainly appears to be a "medical necessity." Secondly, Medjet doesn't cover the medical expenses you incur, even though it requires you to be hospitalized to qualify for its services. Finally, Medjet has a number of medical situations for which it won't provide evacuation services, including injuries or illnesses which can be treated by local doctors. You can have Medjet? I?ll take the medical evacuation coverage that is automatically covered in most travel insurance plans at no additional cost.

The message posted anonymously in response to the Wendy Perrin posting regarding MedjetAssist raises some interesting points that require our comment.

We urge all our existing and prospective members to thoroughly read the rules and regulations of our membership program as well as any fine print associated with travel insurance policies. Our mission has always been to get sick or injured travelers to the hospital of their choice. While we provide comprehensive medical evacuation services, joining MedjetAssist is never intended to replace the need for basic travel insurance that covers other medical expenses. To avoid any disagreements over interpretations of medical necessity, we require that travelers in distress and seeking evacuation be hospitalized so that our medical professionals at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center can work with the local physicians to gauge the condition of the traveler and prescribe the safest and most expeditious course of action, treatment and transportation. Regardless, however, of the type of inpatient medical care or how good it may be, our member always has the ability to choose to go back to the hospital of their choice closer to home.

WHERE WERE YOU, ROY OR JEFFREY, WHEN WE NEEDED YOU????? ASLEEP? Or just decided it was a good time to forget to serve????

YOU WHO HAVEN'T BEEN SCREWED BY MEDjet better read the fine print! MEDjet, you actually HAVE any jets or access to any? If you ever have done an evacuation, did the patient survive? Or survive and wish they hadn't??? our exclusions require such severe injury, THAT'S a legitimate question!

My wife fell on a 1500-year old staircase at Teotihuacan (outside Mexico City- -MAJOR international airport). She tore all layers of skin of a 9 inch patch and cut into the muscle. After a long struggle, we got her back to Mexico City's American British Cowdray Hospital (heard of it?) ER. She was seen by Emergency Medicine specialists there who called in a reconstructive plastic surgeon. I called MEDjet and got that blocker outfit you use to refuse service. The plastic surgeon was ready to admit her and do surgery the next morning, giving time for surgical prep. Medjet, after 3 calls, offered a return flight in cattle car- -this for a woman who had been told she urgently needed surgery and, if not done them and there, she HAD to keep her leg up to prevent pooling of blood and swelling. Mention was also made of the the extreme danger of infection. Considering my wife has severe asthma and would be in Mexico City's smog for at least 4 weeks followinf the surgery (she couldn't travel after the surgery), her chance of survival in that atmosphere was low. We had 1st class return flight's (WHO doesn't travel without their return booked, anyway? You serve indigents and hippies who can't afford your membership fees?) booked on Mexicana a month away and moved them to the next day to get out. Better than the cattle YOU offered.
My wife has now had plastic surgery. This website has my permission to release my email address to you on request if you have anything to say. Or you can post it here.
And don't think you've heard the last of me. You haven't. Trust me.

Oh, let me point out that FINE PRINT is in the contract you never signed that THEY send you AFTER you've joined?

Exclusions? Simple fractures if you can continue your vacation in spite of them? How many of you think you couls climb El Catilloe at Chichen Itxa after breaking a leg? Or a toe?
Don't expect help from them, though.

At MedjetAssist our promise to our members is that we will be there in the event of a medical emergency 24/7/365, to take care of them and their families and to offer them easy to understand membership options so that they can stay in control of a medical crisis. So, needless to say, it concerns us to hear that one of our members was dissatisfied with our services in his family's time of need.

Our Executive Vice President reviewed the tapes of the calls in an effort to better understand and resolve this situation. Upon this review it was evident that the member clearly told our transport representative that he had already made arrangements to get his wife home the following morning and that our services were no longer required. There was no indication at the time of any dissatisfaction on the member's behalf. Regardless, we have been in direct touch with the member to review the situation so that hopefully a misunderstanding like this can be preempted in the future.

Regarding the accessibility of the terms and conditions of our memberships, we would like to point out that our full rules and regulations are posted on our website, www.medjetassist.com, for easy access. Also, our membership services team is available 24/7 via our toll free number, 800/527-7478, to mail a printed set of our rules and regulations and to answer any questions a member or potential member might have about our program.

"At MedjetAssist our promise to our members is that we will be there in the event of a medical emergency 24/7/365, to take care of them and their families and to offer them easy to understand membership options so that they can stay in control of a medical crisis."
So, again, let me ask, where were you? Not at that hospital when my wife had that gaping wound in her leg, you weren't. And you know it.

I notice your site so that it no longer includes the "Testimonials" section it used to. Interesting. I meant to ask about a number of cases you cited of what appeared to be less serious wounds, such as broken ankles rather than gaping wounds, when you claim to have provided a medical evacuation jet.

"So, needless to say, it concerns us to hear that one of our members was dissatisfied with our services in his family's time of need."
It oght ought to. I consider your words and promises worthless. You provide a false sense of security that is just that- -false. We were engaging in no obviously dangerous activities, such as bungee jumping or skydiving. We were merely visiting an archaeological site which tens of thousands of other people do every day.

"Our Executive Vice President reviewed the tapes of the calls in an effort to better understand and resolve this situation.
You promised to send me a transcript of those tapes. Whee are they? Better yet, send copies. I used to work in the field of digital voice processing. If you tamper with them, you'd better have someone really good do it or I will detect it

" Upon this review it was evident that the member clearly told our transport representative that he had already made arrangements to get his wife home the following morning and that our services were no longer required."
That is NOT true! At the time I talked to your rep from Mexico City who I later found was not a MEdjet employee at all, but a dispatcher for multiple evacuation "services" based at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center), no arrangements had been made for our departure from Mexico City. The "dispatcher"offered "commercial" return, which I justifiably, I believe, interpreted to mean coach class. NO mention of business or first class was made by her, as you yourself admitted. She had been told by the plastic surgeon in the ER at the American British Cowdray Hospital that my wife MUST keep the injured leg elevated or the later skin graft would not "take". Mention was also repeatedly made of the grave danger of infection of such a large wound. We had business class return tickets on Mexicana Airlines 4 weeks later (we had planned on going on to Yucatan and returning fron there) and had yet to call them to re-arrange flights, so ne no continuing arrangements had beeb made. We lost approximately $2500 in non-refundable airfare because of cutting the trip short. However, we felt it was better for my wife for us to return in business class than coach. We wanted bulkhead seats and could not originally book them. The Mexicana stewadesses also arranged for two men in the 3rd row to exchange seats with us so she could elevate her leg. Mexicana also arranged to have a wheelchair with elevated leg rest for her at every airport, as they said they would. Overall, they provided far more service than you.

As far as "commercial" is concerned, how many people leave the country without return flights arranged? May countries will not even admit you without return arrangements.

"There was no indication at the time of any dissatisfaction on the member's behalf."
What was I to say? This was a "take or leave it" deal. We left it.
Regardless, we have been in direct touch with the member to review the situation so that hopefully a misunderstanding like this can be preempted in the future.

YYou want to make me happy? There's that $2500. Then, as a result of having to lug our baggage and carry-on, I re-injured my back and have been under the care of a physical medicinie and rehabilation specialist and a physical therapist. And if you don't intend to honor your promises (you don't see the contract until AFTER you've paid), a full refund of 12 years of premiums seems reasonable. If you intend no repeat of this treatment, we can drop that.
BTW, under the laws od the State of Californa, you ARE an insurance, whether you say so or not.

"Regarding the accessibility of the terms and conditions of our memberships, we would like to point out that our full rules and regulations are posted on our website, www.medjetassist.com, for easy access. Also, our membership services team is available 24/7 via our toll free number, 800/527-7478, to mail a printed set of our rules and regulations and to answer any questions a member or potential member might have about our program. "
Where? Here?
http://www.medjetassist.com/membership/rules.asp
Let me quote:
"Decisions regarding urgency of the case, the best timing and the most suitable means of transportation will be made by the MedjetAssist medical department after consulting with the local attending physician and the receiving physician."
You never talked to or even askedthe name of the plastic surgeon here whodid the skin graft. You made your determination ENTIRELY on your own. Oh. You did tsalk to the plastic surgeon in the emergency room at ABC Hospital. He was not the receiving physician. He did believe, however, and said to me several times, that he believed she should be admitted then and there and surgery done that evening or the next morning. How's that for "fast"?

Let me quote another piece
"However, if the member's condition permits, the member may be transported by scheduled commercial airline, while in the care of a MedjetAssist medical team."
Had THAT offer been made, I would have taken it- -n business class ("Ejectivo", as Mexicana terms it). Assistance wth baggage and carry-on would have saved my back and prevented the ensuing pain and necessary medical treatment.

I found opne of your testiminials on my disk. Kindly explain why this is more serious than the situation I describe. I thought simple fractues were excluded.
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Testimonials

Geoffrey Weill Breaks Ankle on Andean Peak.

Geoffrey Weill experienced every traveler?s worst nightmare. He not only lived to tell the tale but also experienced it in the most pampered and spectacular fashion possible. ?Any traveler who doesn?t take advantage of this membership truly should stay at home,? said Geoffrey.

While hiking an ancient Incan trail near Peru?s Machu Picchu, Geoffrey slid on some wet ground. His right foot lodged between two rocks, and as he turned to avoid falling on his face, he heard it?a loud crack. When he looked to assess the damage, he noticed his foot hung at a 90-degree angle from his leg, which explained the immense pain he was experiencing.

Lucky for Geoffrey, his hiking companion had a cell phone. They called the only local doctor, who hurried out to meet them. Geoffrey was given a shot for his pain and was carried on a makeshift stretcher down to the Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel. There, he was re-splinted and transferred by train and ambulance to a private clinic in Cuzco. X-rays revealed a major break of the tibia and fibula just above his ankle. He was placed under full anesthesia, so this ankle could be straightened.

The question then was what to do next. He could stay in Peru and risk reparative surgery in Cuzco or Lima. Or he could call MedjetAssist and travel home.

Geoffrey chose to call MedjetAssist. Within the hour, the MedjetAssist medical team had discussed Geoffrey?s condition with the Cuzco surgeons, viewed his X-rays online and discussed the next steps with his New York City orthopedist. It was clear that major surgery was necessary.

At 11 p.m. that evening, travel plans were confirmed with Geoffrey?s wife. MedjetAssist was sending a medical Learjet staffed with two nurses to pick up both of the Weills. The aircraft could not operate in and out of Cuzco due to the elevation, so three seats were reserved on a commercial flight to Lima. They would meet the MedjetAssist medical team there.

Upon arriving in Lima, the Weills were met by a MedjetAssist crew consisting of two pilots and two nurses. The cabin of the private Lear jet was configured for a medical patient, with a comfortable hospital bed, passenger seats and a sofa. ?The nurses were knowledgeable and kind, even offering reading materials, snacks and a choice of movies,? commented Geoffrey. ?The selection included Intolerable Cruelty. I thought that was fitting given my situation.?

During the flight home, MedjetAssist headquarters confirmed Geoffrey?s room number at Mount Sinai Hospital. When the plane landed at La Guardia, they taxied to a remote parking spot?right next to a New York City ambulance. The nurses remained with the Weills until Geoffrey was comfortably in his hospital room on the 8th floor.

?If you?re a traveler like me, don?t take any more risks,? said Geoffrey. ?I urge you to join MedjetAssist.?