I had an exchange summer but left with an huge medical bill

Im not certain how insurence works in the usa , although I know an bit about it , during my exhange program , my agency gave me free insurence , upon arriving at my program I suddenly started having bad stomach cramps and UTI symptoms , I went to urgent care and found the issue , it were something minor , mainly female issues ( infection ) along with an overian cyst but nothing really serious. When my problems got worst , I went to the hospital as advised. They did around 4 tests and kept me in for an few hours. The results wasnt anything really bad but something that could occur at anytime. Upon returning home , Ive been charged $16,189.07 and my insurence is refusing to pay any of this money , claming my problems were pre exisiting yet any woman at anytime could get an infection and there were no way of me knowing I had an overian cyst. I cant afford that amount , being an student and working an part time job.

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ArishMell · 70-79, M

An awful experience, but I'm afraid it's your word against theirs.

An insurer might pay for treatment following an accident demonstrably not your fault; but the word "pre-existing", although linguistically nonsense, is an easy way for insurance companies to avoid paying for treating illnesses. Their primary aim is to make money for their shareholders, not to repay their customers.

Very likely the Terms and Conditions mean they would be always "right" legally (as a contract), though not necessarily medically, nor morally.

Even if the insurer did pay, it or any other travel insurer is very likely to refuse you medical cover for future travel, at least not without a big increase in premium (partially reclaiming the original cost) and tighter restrictions.
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A friend had to give up diving after a medical emergency when diving on a holiday abroad. The insurers did pay the medical services involved, including for bringing her back to Britain where her full treatment was by the NHS; but I gather she cannot obtain diving insurance again. Even if she could, it would likely be prohibitively costly and obstructive. I don't know if it would be dangerous medically for her to dive again.