Business Travel Up To 12 Months

For international business trips up to 12 months, in most cases, the University provides a Global Medical Policy at no extra cost for you and your eligible dependents. You must enroll before your departure to receive this coverage. Enrollment in your domestic plan is required to be kept concurrent with your travel policy enrollment.

This policy offers comprehensive protection, including:

  • Medical Accidents or Sickness
  • Mental Health Services
  • Chiropractic Care
  • Chaperone Replacement
  • Trip Interruption
  • Emergency Evacuation

For full details and to enroll, click here. 

*Important Note for Consumer Driven Health Plan (CDHP) with Health Savings Account (HSA) enrollees: The Global Medical Policy provides "first dollar medical coverage," which impacts your HSA contributions. IRS regulations state that if you are covered by this policy for any part of a month, you are ineligible to make contributions or receive employer contributions for that entire month. This applies even if you are only traveling for a few days within the month. For example, if you are traveling for two weeks, the last week of a month and the first week of the next month, then you would be required to stop contributions for both months. If you are a CDHP enrollee making HSA contributions, please use the 'Life Event' button in Workday to adjust your contributions accordingly before your trip.

Faculty and Staff Health Plan Emergency and Urgent Care Abroad

In addition to the supplemental Global Medical Policy, all three options under the Bucknell University Faculty and Staff Health Plan provide emergency and urgent care coverage for you and your covered dependents while traveling internationally. This includes services typically treated in a domestic emergency room or urgent care clinic.

The Bucknell University Faculty and Staff Health Plan defines emergency care and urgent care as follows:

  • Emergency Care: Any health care service provided to a Member after the sudden onset of a medical condition that manifests itself by acute symptoms of sufficient severity or severe pain, such that a prudent layperson, who possesses an average knowledge of health and medicine, could reasonably expect the absence of immediate medical attention to result in: a) placing the health of the Member, or with respect to a pregnant woman, the health of a woman or her unborn child, in serious jeopardy; b) serious impairment to bodily functions; or c) serious dysfunction of any bodily organ or part.
  • Urgent Care: Any Covered Service provided to a Member in a situation that requires care within twenty-four (24) hours.

Under the PPO and CDHP plans, urgent care services will be reimbursed at the out-of-network level. You will likely need to pay for services when rendered and then file a claim for reimbursement upon their return. Itemized receipts are essential for claim submission.

While your domestic health plan covers international emergency and urgent care, it does not provide comprehensive medical coverage abroad. The Global Medical Policy is designed to fill this gap for business travel.

 

ABOVE CONTENT LAST REVIEWED AND UPDATED FOR COMPLETENESS AND ACCURACY JULY 11, 2025.