Medicine and Health

When traveling outside the United States, it’s important to understand local medical services in your destination and prepare for any potential health needs.

Review the Health information for your destination before you travel. This way, you will know about available medical services, health risks, and any rules for traveling with certain prescription medications.

Make sure you understand what medical services your health insurance covers outside the United States. If your insurance is accepted abroad, take your insurance card and claim forms with you.

Medicare does not cover medical costs outside the United States. Visit Medicare.gov for more information on traveling outside the United States.

Some health insurance plans cover typical medical costs abroad. Most plans do not pay to bring you back to the United States if you need special medical evacuation by air ambulance. 

Medical evacuation by air ambulance back to the United States can cost from $20,000 to $200,000, depending on where you are and your health condition. Consider buying medical evacuation insurance as part of your travel insurance coverage.

Check with the foreign embassy of each country you plan to visit or pass through for any prescription restrictions. Make sure these countries allow your medicine at customs, especially prescriptions like medical marijuana, ADHD medications, and sleeping pills. Some countries require special permissions or government permits. 

• Bring enough medicine for your whole trip, plus a few days in case of travel delays.
• Ask your doctor to write a letter explaining your medical condition. They should list all your prescription medicines by their generic names. Keep the letter with your medicines in their original package, in a safe place.
• Take copies of your prescriptions with you.  

Some destinations require vaccinations. Before you travel, check the vaccination requirements for the destination you plan to visit. 

• Yellow card: You may need to carry an International Certificate of Vaccination, or proof of other shots or medical tests. This is commonly known as a Yellow Card. Contact the foreign embassies directly for current requirements.
• Malaria: Visit the CDC and World Health Organization (WHO) websites for recommended vaccinations and malaria prevention tips. The CDC also has information on choosing medicines to prevent malaria.

Every year, tens of thousands of U.S. citizens travel abroad for medical care. This includes cosmetic surgery, dental care, and other procedures and services.

If you’re thinking about traveling abroad for medical care, you should: 

• Check the doctor’s training, qualifications, and reputation. 
• Visit the CDC Traveler’s Health medical tourism information. 
• Review destination-specific medical tourism information in the Health section of the Travel Guidance for your destination. 

Review the CDC information on pandemic influenza. During a pandemic, virus control measures could affect your travel or delay your return home to the United States: 

• Other countries might suddenly close borders. 
• Airlines and other transport services could stop operating. 
• Some countries might quarantine people who seem sick or test positive.
• Consider buying travel insurance with coverage that includes trip cancelation due to disease outbreaks or pandemics and international medical care coverage.

Air pollution can be a problem in many destinations abroad and can change quickly. Smog or heavy particle pollution can affect your health. 

Use NASA’s Air Quality Forecast tool to view a 3-day forecast of expected air quality around the world. It uses Artificial Intelligence (AI), global air pollution models, and historical data.

People at greatest risk of illness from pollution include babies, children, teens, and older adults.

Anyone with these health conditions should talk to their doctor before traveling to places with poor air quality:

• Heart disease 
• Asthma 
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) 
• Chronic bronchitis 
• Emphysema 
• Other lung diseases