The case of a man who travelled from Vancouver to Mexico and is now facing a growing six-figure medical bill is serving as a cautionary tale for other travellers buying insurance.
Australian Ryan Maudlen and Austrian Katharina Reigl lived in Vancouver for two years before they decided to embark on a trip of a lifetime.
The two travelled to Alaska and back, and had plans on completing their journey in South America, but ended up in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, their friend Ryan Mulligan said.
"Now they're in the predicament they're in," Mulligan told CTV Vancouver.
Maudlen, who has Crohn's disease, collapsed last Monday and was rushed to hospital in Playa del Carmen.
"He had a perforation of his intestines and all the liquid in his stomach basically spilled out into his body," Reigl told CTV Vancouver from Mexico.
Maudlen ended up with blood poisoning and was put in a medically induced coma. His mounting medical bills now total more than $100,000, and it could cost another $100,000 to airlift him back to Australia, where he has health coverage.
Reigl said that her boyfriend had bought travel insurance online from a company in the U.K. before their trip. When Maudlen first fell ill, the insurance company said they'd cover his medical bills, but later reversed its position, she said.
"The insurance said they'd cover it, that's why they let him into the hospital, and two days later they backed out," Reigl said.
Reigl said she believes his claim was denied because Maudlen had a pre-existing condition. She said she doesn't think he disclosed that he had Crohn's when he purchased the insurance policy.
Alex Bittner, president of the Travel Health Insurance Association of Canada, said that most British plans don't cover pre-existing conditions. Most Canadian plans do cover people under the age of 60, even if they don't disclose any pre-existing conditions, he said.
Bittner said that even if Canadians have chronic conditions, they are usually covered by Canadian insurance policies, as long as their conditions are stable.
Maudlen's case comes after another couple went public with their travel insurance ordeal.
Jennifer Huculak and Darren Kimmel were hit with a $950,000 medical bill after Huculak went into premature labour while on holiday in Hawaii, resulting in a three-month hospital stay.
The couple had bought travel insurance from Saskatchewan Blue Cross before they left, but the company denied their claim, arguing that Huculak had a pre-existing condition. The company also said their insurance expired while Huculak was in hospital.
As for Maudlen's case, his parents have mortgaged their home in Australia to help pay some of the bill. His friends in Vancouver have raised more than $80,000 in a crowdfunding campaign to help out.
"It's a huge financial burden on them and we're just doing everything we can from our end to help him out," Mulligan said.
With a report from CTV Vancouver's Shannon Paterson
