A Conroe woman wants others to consider getting travel insurance after she was taken to a hospital in Mexico for an emergency.
CONROE, Texas — A Conroe woman's cruise came with an unexpected cost.
Khiali Baxter had a medical emergency on board a Royal Caribbean cruise from Galveston to Mexico, and her family spent more than $13,000 out of pocket for medical care.
The Baxter family wants to warn others after going through this experience.
“Sometimes the trip of a lifetime can become the situation of a lifetime,” Craig Baxter said.
Baxter has a pile of receipts from all expenses paid for his daughter, Khiali. She was just two days and five hours into her first-ever cruise with her boyfriend when she became ill.
“I woke up, I started throwing up blood. Unfortunately, I had passed out on the ground,” Baxter said.
She was taken to the onboard emergency room, where doctors said she had internal bleeding.
An ambulance took her to a hospital four hours away.
“I could feel myself kind of going in and out of consciousness. I was very cold and terrified,” Baxer said.
Baxter’s parents were contacted once she arrived at the hospital, where staff asked for payment up front before they would treat her. Craig Baxter, Khiali’s dad, recalls the conversation with the hospital staff member.
“We’ll work as far as the $2,500 will take us,’ I’ve never heard this in my life,” he said.
An endoscopy and colonoscopy were performed, but Baxter said doctors couldn’t figure out where the bleeding was coming from.
The Baxter family received an itemized bill totaling $9,970. A bill from their cruise ship for on-board medical facilities cost $4,048. The family also spent money on flights and lodging in Mexico. At this time, they still don’t know why Khiali started bleeding internally.
In hindsight, the family wishes they had looked into travel insurance.
We spoke with Jeff Rolander, VP of claims and customer experience at Faye Travel Insurance. He recommends people shop around before booking a policy, which can cost a few hundred dollars.
“There are very barebones policies that might protect just a piece of the trip, for instance, the flights themselves or a hotel room,” Rolander said. “A comprehensive travel insurance product typically costs 6 to 8% of the trip cost,” Rolander said.
He said policies can cover the entire trip, medical bills and medical transport.
The Baxter Family said their goal is to make other families aware of the option to get travel insurance.
“It was an eye-opening experience that I hope prepares other young people,” Craig Baxter said.
A GoFundMe has helped recover some of the costs, but the family hopes others can be prepared to avoid potential financial pain.
“It was a very, very scary experience...I really wish I would’ve gotten travel insurance,” Khiali Baxter said.
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