Don’t Overpay for Travel Medicine

For some trips, like the African safari I took this past summer, it’s wise to be up-to-date on certain vaccinations and bring along some prescription medication. But I discovered that those shots and scripts can vary wildly in cost—and a lot depends on how you obtain them.

For convenience’s sake, before our trip my husband made an appointment at the travel clinic closest to us. With little transparency into the costs of what the health practitioner there recommended, he walked away with a bill north of $3,000. We submitted the charges for reimbursement to our medical insurance (travel insurance doesn’t cover pre-trip preventative medicine), but were denied because the clinic was out-of-network.

Aghast at the expense and willing to trade a few hours of research for a lower bill, I found ways to get the same shots and services that could have saved my husband almost $2,000. Here’s how I managed that:

I searched the International Society of Travel Medicine’s Travel Clinic Directory for other clinics near me and called those offices to find out what they’d charge for a travel consultation and various vaccines. I also contacted my primary-care physician, who told me over the phone what vaccines and medications I should procure from a local pharmacy. I only had to pay out of pocket for one of the vaccines he recommended; the others were covered entirely by the same insurance plan that had denied my husband’s claim for those very shots.

If it’s hard to reach your doctor, know that some pharmacy chains provide travel-health consultations at certain locations (subject to state laws), and some local public-health departments operate very affordable immunization clinics. There’s also Runway Health: For a flat fee of $30, their doctors will prescribe vaccinations and medications based on your travel destination and medical history, and communicate with you via a chat portal during your trip—say, if you miss a dose and aren’t sure what to do. Runway Health will mail you most of the medications you might need, with prices ranging from $29 to $129 (shipping is free), and they can send prescriptions for any shots to your local pharmacy (and, crucially, tell you where rarer vaccinations like yellow fever are available, something I found incredibly time-consuming to do on my own).

A pre-trip health consultation is wise medicine for many destinations. Just make sure that you’re as savvy about choosing your health provider as you are about choosing your local travel fixer!

GET A PERSONALIZED TRIP RECOMMENDATION

Be a smarter traveler: Sign up for Wendy’s weekly newsletter to stay in the know. Read real travelers’ reviews, then use the black CONTACT buttons on Wendy’s WOW List to reach out to the right local fixer for your trip.