Medicare warning after woman’s mistake before P&O cruise from Sydney

A cruise ship passenger has shared an urgent warning after learning Medicare would not cover her medical expenses after she broke her wrist on board. 

Alice Springs woman Barbara Clifford had planned the trip of a lifetime with her son Brandon, 20, in March.

The pair were on a cruise that departed from Sydney and that was headed for the Whitsundays, in Queensland, when she fell within minutes of a stop in Port Douglas. 

‘At the marina while walking up the slight incline onto the footpath, I tripped over my own feet and the entire weight of my body hit my wrist,’ the life coach and motivational speaker said.

‘I got a 45-minute taxi to the nearest hospital in Port Douglas to get an X-ray, but I was worried I wouldn’t make it back on the ship before it departed again.’

She was able to consult with a doctor at Mossman Hospital in Port Douglas where she received X-rays and a wrist splint before dashing back to port.

‘Fortunately, things were timely. But I had a lot of anxiety in that waiting room the ship would leave,’ she said.

She re-joined her cruise before it set sail but chose not to seek treatment at the medical clinic on board after being told it was not covered under Medicare and it would be a significant expense.

Once home, Barbara discovered that her wrist had healed improperly, and she would require extensive surgical intervention as a result.

She said when she got back she went to a fracture clinic and was told the splint on her wrist had seriously deteriorated and it had healed crooked.

‘It required being re-broken, operated on immediately and a titanium plate inserted,’ Ms Clifford said.

‘I’m still in my ninth week of rehabilitation and recovery and just getting back to driving again.’

According to the government’s Smart Traveller website, many cruise ships do not have a doctor or medical facilities which are covered by Medicare – even if they are Australian based. 

‘Once your ship leaves port, even if you’re cruising Australian waters, you’re no longer covered for hospital or medical expenses by Medicare or your private health care provider,’ Natalie Smith from 1Cover Travel Insurance confirmed. 

‘This means they won’t cover any expenses incurred on board the ship. 

‘You’re also not covered by Medicare and private health when you’re on land for cruise excursions.’

Ms Clifford fell and fractured her wrist but not wanting to foot the bill for the ship’s doctor she went to hospital when the cruise finished and was told her wrist would need to be rebroken and a titanium plate inserted

Ms Smith said Ms Clifford should have taken out ‘cruise cover’, which would have entitled her to receive ‘treatment on board’. 

‘If she was unable to proceed with her cruise due to her accident, she would have also been covered to return home to receive the appropriate medical care,’ she said.

‘Too many people assume they will be covered by Medicare, when in fact, you are not covered by Medicare or your private health fund if you need medical treatment once your ship has set sail.’

In July, a woman on board P&O’s Pacific Adventure complained she had been hit with an $8,000 medical bill after she fell on a dance floor and broke her ankle.