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This Bulletin deals with three INDOEX field phase personnel issues that have health/workers' compensation insurance implications:
Personal Health Insurance
Each participant in the INDOEX field phase will be responsible for any charges for his/her own health care. The ADK Hospital in Male (see INDOEX Bulletin: Health) will accept insurance payments, if the participant's particular insurance organization will authorize the care/treatment and costs. Therefore, all participants must check to be sure that their personal health insurance (whether provided by the individual, their institution, or their government) provides worldwide coverage. If it does, participants should carry proof of coverage. If your insurance coverage does not currently extend worldwide, we strongly encourage you to add that coverage or be prepared to cover your own health care costs (including costs for serious medical emergencies).
INDOEX participants who will spend time on a research vessel should confirm that their insurance coverage extends to shipboard activities.
Medical Evacuation Insurance
In the event of illness or injury that requires medical evacuation (which needs to be coordinated by an attending physician), participants are responsible for the costs of evacuation; however, the INDOEX Operations Center staff can assist in making the necessary arrangements. Individuals should ascertain whether their insurance covers evacuation and whether it covers evacuation from a foreign location back to one's home health care facility (in many cases, insurance covers evacuation to the nearest facility capable of providing the necessary medical care).
Workers' Compensation
US participants should be covered by their respective states' workers' compensation insurance. In addition, it should be noted that this coverage differs slightly from state to state. In many states shipboard activities are not usually covered by standard workers' compensation, but are the subject of special coverage. You may also need an endorsement to get worldwide coverage. Each participant should investigate through their home institution the scope of workers' compensation coverage in the case of work-related illness or accident in the field.
Again, it is the responsibility of each participant to determine and ensure that they have proper individual health insurance, medical evacuation insurance, and state-provided workers' compensation insurance in the event of an illness or accident during the INDOEX field phase. Please note: UCAR's health insurance coverage does not extend to nonemployees, nor is UCAR assuming any financial health care responsibility for nonemployees participating in the INDOEX experiment.
If you have questions regarding any of these three issues, please contact Ms. Laurie Carr, UCAR Manager of Employment and Benefits, at (1) 303-497-8702 or lcarr@ucar.edu.
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Last modified: 4 December 1998