TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Medical Care

I've hesitated to post this, but decided that my experience may help others. Two nights before we were supposed to head home, I developed extremely severe abdominal pains, to the point that I spent most of the night awake in horrific pain. At 6AM, I woke David up and told him I needed to go to the ER. I was seen promptly, blood taken, and given IV Tylenol for the pain (which didn't help). After five hours, an X-ray, and a CT scan, I was diagnosed with diverticulitis, which I had never had before. They wanted me to stay in the hospital overnight, but I declined, and was given two prescriptions. Fortunately, they did the trick, and I felt much better the next day for our flights home. After almost a week at home, I felt pretty much back to normal.

My point in posting this is twofold: First, I was very pleased with the care I received at the hospital. The nurses were attentive and kind, and Dr. Jane, the ER physician, was very thorough and caring. Once she saw the CT scan, she consulted with the hospital Gastroenterologist, who came in with her to throughly explain my condition. I was nervous about what I might experience there, but didn't need to be.

Second, the bill was over $3,500, fortunately they take Visa! I've filed with Medicare, which I'm positive will be declined as they don't cover care in a foreign country. Once that's denied, they'll automatically file with my secondary coverage. If that doesn't work, we'll try with Allianz.

This is the first time we've had any type of serious medical issue in our lifetimes of traveling. We'll definitely consider getting some type of medical coverage in the future.

Glad you had a good outcome and are on the mend. Thanks for posting. Good luck on getting reimbursed.

Most of my experiences with medical care on the island have been positive, except for the hospital losing power when a friend was there in March.

Glad it turned out well for you. Years ago, I had an experience there that was not great. At that time, the hospital didn't even have an MRI machine, which would have presumably revealed my torn rotator cuff. They gave me a sling for my arm, made out of a diaper.

Glad your feeling better and thanks for posting that.

Glad you're better and had a positive experience at the hospital. I remember when I had an overnight stay a few years back. I had to put a 2,500 deposit on my MasterCard. Found out later it was in Naf and not dollars. They did credit me for the unspent portion. After ER visit, CT scan, 2 consults with surgeon, meds and overnight stay total was around 850 US which my insurance covered in full. Good luck on getting reimbursed.

Glad you're feeling better! I'm going to send you a pm. Hope you don't mind...

I don't mind at all.

I had an equally good experience with the hospital care in SXM as well. I felt like they did everything that I would have gotten in the US. And I am glad to hear that you are on the mend.

Glad that you have recovered I had a very mild case of that 20 years ago and nothing since hope it is the same for you.

Georgia, sorry to hear of your illness. That can be scary when you are away from home. My secondary coverage covered around 65% when I had an issue with walking pneumonia last year. But that was only a $200 bill. If you find good insurance please inform us.

Wow - I had no idea, Georgia. Glad you are now back to normal.

I have a personal travel insurance plan with Allianz that covers emergency medical/dental, up to $20K. It's secondary to other health insurance but gives some comfort. Cost is under $300/year.

Is it the Allianz insurance you are offered when you buy your ticket or is this something you do separately ever year?

Tim--the Allianz insurance that is offered when you purchase a ticket is for that particular trip only. She is talking about a yearly plan, I believe. Makes sense, if you spend a lot of time on island.

Thanks for that information, Linda; I'll look into it.

Glad you had a good outcome. I had a similar experience last March which i posted about. The care i got at the Medical Center was much better than expected, and was feeling pretty good after a couple of days of taking some meds, which to this day still not sure what they were!!! It did take a couple of months, but was rejected by medicare for my payments, then put them into my secondary insurance, which did have a 200 deductable, and then received a check for 80 percent of the balance within a couple of weeks after submission. For being out of the USA, i was happy to get a good chunk of my outlay back, and was also very pleased with the caring and professional help i received at the ER of the St Maaten Med Center.

Sorry to hear, Georgia, that you fell ill towards the end of your trip, but I’m glad to hear it was resolved positively.

Correct - it's a personal ANNUAL policy that is in addition to the per-trip insurance offered via airline ticket purchases.

GaKaye - Had a trip to the SMMC this past March and the care and professionalism of the staff there was top notch. A lot quicker than I would have received back home in Canada. Even my own family doctor was impressed. It's good to know that while I'm on island there is quality care available. My government health care plan would not cover out of country health care but 1 of my 2 health insurance plans covered everything down to the penny. Hope that will be the same for you Glad that you are feeling better

Best wishes 🙏

Hope all is well with you now.