The Life of a Hotel Doctor: 'I Have Insurance'

By Mike Oppenheim, M.D.

In rudimentary English, a guest explained that his rash needed attention.

"I'll be there within the hour," I said, and quoted the fee. He replied with a phrase that makes a hotel doctor's heart sink.

"I have insurance."

From an American, this means the visit is no-go. I work alone, and collecting from American carriers requires either a trained billing clerk or far more patience and self-control than I possess. Mostly I refer these guests to a local walk-in clinic.

Foreign travel insurers are better. I send a bill, and (unlike American insurers) they send a check for the identical amount. I asked the name of his insurer. It was Travel Assist, an agency that's called since the 1990s.

The proper step was to ask the guest to phone Travel Assist who would check his eligibility, approve the visit, and phone me. This never happens quickly, but it's rarely a problem because 99 percent of travelers call their insurance first, so I don't hear about the visit until it's approved. This guest had mistakenly called me. To speed up matters, I told him I would arrange matters.

After listening to my explanation, the Travel Assist dispatcher said she would phone the guest, confirm his coverage, and call back. To pass time, I booted up my copy of Sim City. This worked too well; after 45 minutes of wrestling with urban problems I realized the phone had remained silent. Calling, I discovered that my dispatcher had vanished, perhaps to lunch. After putting me on hold, another dispatcher assured me that the wheels were turning. I phoned the guest to make sure he hadn't wandered off only to learn that no one had called and that his tour was leaving in two hours. I called the dispatcher who explained that he was in Argentina, and the guest was Indonesian, so approval might take a while.

Once the guest left for his tour, the visit would evaporate, so, after waiting another half hour, I decided to take my chances. My phone rang while I was on the freeway. The dispatcher informed me that no one could find the guest's proof of insurance, but that didn't mean it wouldn't turn up. Learning I was on the road, he offered to call the guest and suggest he pay me directly and try to claim reimbursement. That rarely works, but it worked this time.


Doctor Oppenheim has been a hotel doctor in Los Angeles for thirty years. He has made about 15,000 visits.


Authors contact:
Mike Oppenheim
Email: michaeloppen@yahoo.com