Navigating Medical Debt: A Family’s $13K Nightmare After a Cruise Ship Emergency

A Texas woman, Khiali Baxter, experienced a medical emergency during her cruise on Royal Caribbean from Galveston to Mexico, leading to over $13,000 in out-of-pocket expenses for her family.

Navigating her first cruise, Khiali fell seriously ill just two days in. “I woke up, I started throwing up blood. Unfortunately, I had passed out on the ground,” she explained. After being rushed to the onboard emergency room, doctors identified internal bleeding. An ambulance transported her to a hospital located four hours away, where she faced a harrowing ordeal. “I could feel myself kind of going in and out of consciousness. I was very cold and terrified,” Khiali recounted.

Hospital staff requested upfront payment before administering treatment, a shocking experience for her father, Craig Baxter. “We’ll work as far as the $2,500 will take us,’ I’ve never heard this in my life,” he noted. After an endoscopy and colonoscopy, still no cause for the bleeding was determined. The family received a bill totaling approximately $9,970, along with an additional $4,048 from the cruise ship for onboard medical care, along with other unforeseen expenses.

Reflecting on this ordeal, Craig Baxter hopes to warn others about the importance of travel insurance, a safeguard that might have alleviated their financial burden. Travel insurance policies can vary widely, with comprehensive options covering entire trips, medical bills, and medical transport. According to Jeff Rolander, VP of claims at Faye Travel Insurance, these policies generally cost about 6% to 8% of the trip cost.

As they share their story, the Baxter family aims to educate fellow travelers about securing insurance for potential medical emergencies abroad. A GoFundMe has assisted in reimbursing some costs, but Khiali asserts, “It was a very, very scary experience…I really wish I would’ve gotten travel insurance.”

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