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Last Updated on September 5, 2024 by Paul Clayton
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Complete Guide To Health Insurance for Full-Time RVers
Healthcare on the road is an important topic and one of the bigger logistical challenges for RVers. It’s figuring out what to do about healthcare from insurance, accessing healthcare on the road, and keeping on top of all these logistical loops.
And it can potentially be one of the things that either allow you to go on the road or not. It’s that important.
The good news is we’ve been camping for a while, and health insurance for RVers is one department we’ve navigated a lot. Therefore, I’ll share everything you should know about health insurance for RVers.
Quick Disclaimer: We’re not doctors, we’re not health insurance brokers, and we’re not licensed health practitioners. What I’ll discuss here is simply our personal experiences.
Why you Need Health Insurance Policy
The first thing we’ll discuss is the importance of having health insurance coverage, and we’ll look at it from an RVer perspective.
Many RVers think a health insurance policy is simply a way to cover their routine medical expenses. I’ve come across some RVers, particularly those in their 30s to 50s, who argue that they’re young, healthy, don’t take any prescription medication or don’t have any illness, so they don’t need to worry about health care coverage.
And yes, nothing could be further from the truth in their statement. Most consider insurance coverage a way to defray routine medical expenses. While covering routine medical expenses is a nice side benefit, it shouldn’t be the primary consideration, and that’s not really what health coverage for RVers is about.
Well, unless you’ve a chronic illness that you know of that requires a lot of care.
The purpose isn’t also about avoiding a tax penalty or anything. A couple of years ago, there was a tax penalty under the Affordable Care Act if you didn’t carry health insurance. It was scraped off in 2019.
The real reason any RVers should consider health insurance is to cover the potentially catastrophic unexpected loss. Mark the word unexpected; things you can’t foresee or have planned for, either due to illness or traumatic camping injury. Catastrophe can hit pretty much anybody, regardless of age or health condition.
In my opinion, you should care for health insurance coverage for two main reasons:
The first one is some providers may only allow you health & emergency services if you can prove the ability to pay your bill. And in general, it means having some kind of insurance or health plan. Of course, policies vary widely, but you don’t want to take that chance.
Another reason you should consider insurance as an RVer is to keep you from bankruptcy or financial disaster.
So, the question I always pose to critics of health insurance policies is, do you wanna play Russian Roulette with your life and health?
Important Concepts for Health Insurance RVers Should Know
Age
If you’re above the age of 65 years, Medicare is a great option to consider. Medicare is an insurance program run by the government that guarantees you’ll have health insurance coverage at age 65, regardless of your economic status.
It’s simply health insurance for old people. Part of the money your employers pay out for you goes to Medicare, and the justification is that when you’re old, medical care is really expensive, and you’ll barely afford it. So, the US government pays a good chunk of it.
The good thing with Medicare is you can obtain medical coverage virtually anywhere in the US, and I usually consider it a must for full-time, senior RVers.
Nationwide Access
When selecting a health insurance provider, you must consider its nationwide access. It’s important, especially to RVers, who are always on the move.
Most people are usually in their home state pretty much of the time, but the fulltime RVers, usually don’t have that luxury. RVers usually travel all the time, so one of the things you should be interested in when selecting a provider is having access to the provider network outside of your home state.
Sometimes, this may be difficult to determine from the information providers give. What you want to look for on the insurance writing or contract is something along the lines of “provider to a nationwide access” or something similar. However, don’t hesitate to inquire about it if you’re unsure about it.
Type of Plan
The other important thing to consider on your health insurance plan is the type of plan.
Generally, health insurance plans for RVers are usually categorized into two:
- HMO
- PPO/EPO
HMO and PPO are types of managed care; practically speaking, the main difference between the two is how you’re able to get care.
HMO, also known as a Health Maintenance Organization policy, provides you with a primary care physician to who you’ve to go for everything. HMO restricts you to an individual or group of physicians. Therefore, if you need specialized care beyond what your designated PCP (primary care provider) offers, you still have to go to them and get a referral.
Without a referral from your CPC, no one can attend to you.
On the other hand, a PPO or preferred provider organization allows you to choose who you see and when. And so, no need to see your PCP if you need to see a specialist. You just call up and make an appointment.
It’s that simplified, but the bottom line is how an individual choice will affect you as an RVer.
The problem with HMOs is they use a designated PCP, who is a gatekeeper of your access to medical care. And in most cases, the PCP is usually in your home state, making it kind of impractical for RVers traveling because you can’t always get back to your home state to see your PCP before seeing a specialist.
So, I’d highly suggest you pick a PPO plan with a very strong network, so you can always stay in-network while on the road. And not just a strong network but one that is fairly nationwide. It makes sense to look at the locations where you’ll be traveling a lot because there’re very few nationwide networks.
Most of them have regionally-based coverage.
Out-of-Network Cap
Something else that goes hand-in-hand with coverage and isn’t regulated by the Affordable Care Act is whether or not there’s an out-of-network cap n your insurance.
Basically, if you end up in a hospital somewhere, in an accident, and end out-of-network, you want there to be a cap on how much you’ll spend before your insurance takes care of the rest. It could be anywhere from, typically seems, double the in-network cap, but it could be higher.
Remember, this is unregulated, and you need to look for it in your health insurance plan. On top of that, as a full-time traveler, your odds of being out-of-network and needing healthcare are much higher than when you’re living a stationary lifestyle.
Emergency
Many HMOs and some select PPOs provide no coverage outside their home state except for emergencies. True insurance will, however, cover you for an emergency, even out of state.
But for HMOs, the definition of emergency can be narrow, depending on the policy. If it’s life-threatening, a true provider will cater to that, regardless of location. However, depending on the policy, some will also require you to travel back to your home state for follow-up care.
And as an RVer, you don’t want to do that. If you happen to be in DC and you’re domiciled in Florida, that would be a long trip to make when you’re feeling unwell. So, this is something you need to consider.
Domicile
If you’re a full-time or part-time camper, you already know the RV domicile concept. What’s relevant here is you should get health insurance coverage in the zip code of your domicile.
Where you live, in terms of state and county, will determine your choice of domicile. Therefore, if you’re planning to change the state of domicile, you must understand the health coverage options available where you’re and compare those where you’re thinking of switching to.
Some states, such as Texas, don’t have great non-group coverage options for RVers because there’s no access to nationwide networks on the individual plans offered. So, though Texas is attractive because of the lack of income tax and low sales tax, it might not necessarily offer you better health insurance coverage options.
Cash-Pay
Whether or not you’ve insurance, you could also consider the cash pay option for your medical services when RVing.
It’s possible to get good discounts using this method, especially if you pre-negotiate some of your care. You could get some fixed pricing and a good discount.
While it doesn’t go towards your deductibles, sometimes, it makes more sense to go that route. I use this option often, and the truth is, it’s well below my deductibles.
However, this option works well on non-urgent things, such as routine checks. It allows you to call around and get it done on a cash basis and save more than your health insurance plan would give you access to their discounted rates. And when you pay it out of your Health Savings Account (HSA), it gets even cheaper.
Medical Tourism
Another option many RVers do, especially since Mexico is such an option, is to cross the border and access first-rate health care by paying cash. You also get access to healthcare from credited US medical doctors that go across borders to get away from insurance rates.
How to Find a doctor?
If you’ve a primary care physician willing to work with you while you travel, keep them. Getting established with a primary care physician while traveling can be a bit of a chore.
When we started on the road, we had a PCP; he was great and on board with my nomadic lifestyle. He was so envious of my nomadic lifestyle that he ended up putting up his service a couple of years later, and that’s how we lost that access.
Now, if you’re looking for a PCP, you want to keep them in your state of domicile because it goes into establishing yourself in that state. It’s important, especially when trying to prove you intend to live there.
If you’ve a PCP and have ongoing medical conditions or prescriptions you need on the road, ensure you talk to your PCP before you go on the road. Try arranging how to get the prescriptions on the road. For example, I know RVers who get prescriptions through nationwide pharmacies.
But what do you do if you don’t have a PCP and need care on the road?
See, even if you’ve a PCP, they may not be able to do much more than say on the phone, “you need to go and see a doctor.” So, what do you do?
Most RVers utilize urgent care clinics, which are locally found in most locations. Some operate 24 hours, while others have extended operation time, but you could walk in and get medical care.
Unless it’s an emergency, urgent care clinics are easy, inexpensive, and can do referrals to a specialist if you need further follow-up care.
The other option is telehealth. It’s also known as telemedicine and simply virtual outpatient care. It’s a relatively new form of healthcare where you log in and meet a medical provider from your device.
However, telemedicine doesn’t replace your PCP because it doesn’t cover things like hospitalizations, procedures, or emergency care. It’s simply a way to get medical advice, opinion, or prescription.
It’s a handy option for RVers and will work best if you can access an internet signal.
Insurance Options for Full-Time RVers
In this section, I’ll share the different types of insurance options that may be beneficial to those who prefer living a nomadic lifestyle:
Fixed-Benefit Insurance
With fixed benefit insurance, also known as fixed indemnity insurance, your provider pays a fixed amount for each healthcare medical service. The downside with this option is that it doesn’t meet the minimum essential coverage and may limit the type of care you can receive.
Still, it’s helpful if you want your insurance to supplement your healthcare cost while on the road.
Short Term Health Insurance
As its name suggests, this form of insurance is perfect for nomads who are temporarily on the move. The plans usually range between one month to a year.
The downside of this plan is you must meet certain medical criteria. For example, you shouldn’t have pre-existing conditions and don’t qualify for Medicare.
Healthcare Sharing Ministry Plans
The healthcare sharing ministry plans usually operate on faith. Here, members pool their funding and collectively pay for all medical bills as needed. However, the plan’s deductible must be met.
Wrap Up
That’s a wrap and everything you need to know about health insurance for full-time RVers. While shopping for the perfect plan is seemingly daunting, our above checklist and insurance options will make the process easier.
