University Employees Eligible for Emergency Medical Benefits when Travelling

All University of Arkansas employees who are eligible for benefits have emergency medical coverage for themselves and their family when they are traveling together. Benefits-eligible employees automatically receive this travel assistance through Assist America as part of the university's Basic Life insurance benefit, which is mandatory and paid entirely by the university. No additional sign up is necessary. University employees who are already enrolled in the QualChoice medical insurance plan can use the Assist America coverage as a supplement if they have a medical emergency while travelling.

The worldwide emergency travel assistance service program enables university employees, accompanying spouses and their dependent children to obtain appropriate medical care in an emergency when they are traveling together 100 miles or more away from home, in the United States or abroad. The policy states that the program arranges and pays for services such as doctor referrals, hospital admission guarantee, help refilling lost or forgotten prescriptions, emergency medical evacuation, care of minor children and more when you are away from home in unfamiliar surroundings.

Recent conversations involving administrators in the Graduate School and International Education that focused on international programs and services, led to the realization that the travel assistance plan was in place.

"Identifying medical assistance for employee travel is an example of how important it was to establish International Education under one dean who confers regularly with other academic deans and can address these issues and strategies for comprehensive internationalization with central administration," said Provost Sharon Gaber.

Todd Shields, interim dean of the Graduate School and International Education said that identifying these services is extremely important as the university increases opportunities for worldwide collaboration and exchanges.

"As more and more faculty and staff are traveling abroad for business and for pleasure, those covered by Assist America should understand how to report a medical emergency, if the need arises, so that the appropriate assistance can be made available," Shields said.

"The Office of Study Abroad has always included medical coverage and unlimited emergency travel assistance for students and accompanying faculty leaders as part of the program budgets for its university administered study abroad programs," said DeDe Long, director of the study abroad and international exchange programs. "But I have been concerned that faculty traveling for professional conferences or even for pleasure may not think about what they would do if they had a medical emergency. So knowing that this is now available to our faculty is an enormous relief."

Additional information about the program will be distributed through the University of Arkansas System office and the University of Arkansas Human Resources Office. Benefits-eligible employees planning to travel outside the U.S. should contact Richard Ray at the university Office of Human Resources at 575-2167 or rray@uark.edu and ask for a letter verifying coverage under the university health plan along with instructions for contacting Assist America in the case of a medical emergency.