Getting care while traveling is about to get a lot easier

The last thing anyone wants to worry about while traveling for work or on vacation is how to get good health care if you need it during your trip. A new agreement between Kaiser Permanente and Cigna will ease that concern for our members, starting this fall.

Kaiser Permanente will launch a new feature in August that will give members who are away from home access to Cigna’s national network of physicians and providers, should you need emergency or urgent care during your travels. 

“This new feature will provide our members an improved experience, added convenience, and greater confidence that if they get sick or are injured while away from home, they will have access to great care,” said Arthur Southam, MD, executive vice president of health plan operations for Kaiser Permanente. “This gives our members another option to get high-quality care they need, wherever they are.”

Coupled with our recently launched virtual Get Care Now service, which gives you 24/7 access to care from Kaiser Permanente health care professionals by phone and video, you’ll have even more ways to get care when and how you need it — virtually and in person.

Currently, members who get urgent care while traveling may be asked by the provider to pay up front for their services, and then submit a claim to Kaiser Permanente for reimbursement. As part of this improved experience coming in August, members will be able to access Cigna’s extensive national directory of physicians and other care providers, to find convenient care if you need it while traveling. Members will only be responsible for your regular copay or other cost share.

As a Kaiser Permanente member, you’re covered for urgent and emergency care, anywhere in the world. This new access to Cigna’s U.S. provider network is one more option to make getting that care easier and more convenient. 

This new feature will be available to Kaiser Permanente HMO and exclusive provider organization members who get coverage through an employer or through a Kaiser Permanente Individual or Family Plan you purchase on your own.

More information on this new access to Cigna’s provider network for urgent or emergency care will be provided in the coming months, before it launches in August.

Helpful tips before traveling 

As more and more people return to traveling on business trips, to visit family, and for vacation, make sure you know how to get care while away from home.

• Register on kp.org so you can see your health information online and email your Kaiser Permanente doctor’s office with nonurgent questions anytime.
• Save the Away from Home Travel Line phone number, 951-268-3900 (TTY 711), to your mobile device for travel support anytime, anywhere.
• Get our Kaiser Permanente app to stay connected when you’re on the go.
• See your doctor (sign in required) if you need to manage a condition during your trip.
• Refill your eligible prescriptions (sign in required), including contact lenses, to have enough while you’re away. Be sure to refill at least 1 or 2 weeks before your trip so there’s time to process your request.
• If you travel by plane, keep your prescription medications with you in your carry-on baggage.
• Pack your Kaiser Permanente ID card. It has important phone numbers on the back. If you need to, you can order a new or replacement ID card (sign in required).
• Make sure you understand what services are covered while you travel. Call the Away from Home Travel Line if you have any questions.

You never know what might come up when you’re traveling, so it’s important to be prepared and have a plan. This new access to care through Cigna, coupled with our new virtual Get Care Now service, can be a great part of that plan in the future.