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Get care and prescriptions while you’re traveling

Whether you’re out of town for work, vacation, or college, you’re covered for care when and where you need it.

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Get virtual care 24/7

Talk to a Kaiser Permanente clinician by phone or online.1

Get care now

 

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Use your digital ID card

Download our mobile app to access Kaiser Permanente care on the go.

Download the app


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Call the travel line

Speak with a customer service representative about your travel care options.

Call 951-268-3900 (TTY 711)2


Care and coverage in all 50 states

You have many ways to get care — anywhere in the U.S.3
U.S. map with key, showing the Kaiser Permanente areas. See footnote 3 (CA, CO, D.C., GA, HI, MD, OR, VA, WA) and other areas.

Care in Kaiser Permanente areas

  • Routine care
  • 24/7 virtual care1
  • Urgent and emergency care4
  • Prescription drugs or refills

Care outside Kaiser Permanente areas

  • 24/7 virtual care1
  • Urgent and emergency care4
  • Prescription drugs or refills
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Traveling outside the United States?  See your care options when traveling internationally .

Frequently asked questions

Whether you’re traveling or not, you should always have your physical or digital Kaiser Permanente member ID card with you. It has important information like your medical record number, which you’ll need to get care and prescriptions. You can find your digital ID card in our app. You can also use the app to access your medical record and get 24/7 virtual care .1

Your care options and costs depend on which health plan you have and where you get care. Before you travel, be sure to log in and review your benefits and coverage at kp.org/benefits.

In Kaiser Permanente areas, you can visit any Kaiser Permanente facility and pay your normal copay, coinsurance, or deductible for care and prescriptions — no need to file a claim for reimbursement later.

Outside Kaiser Permanente areas, your care options and payment experience may vary. In the U.S., you’ll often pay your normal copay, coinsurance, or deductible for:

  • 24/7 virtual care from Kaiser Permanente1
  • Urgent care from select providers
  • Prescriptions from an urgent or emergency care visit5

For other urgent and emergency care and prescriptions, you may need to pay the full cost upfront and file a claim for reimbursement later.6

Learn more about costs and claims while traveling.

If you’re in the U.S., you may be able to have nonurgent prescriptions delivered to you at no extra cost. Visit kp.org/pharmacyservices to learn more about your options. Kaiser Permanente prescription delivery isn’t available in Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oklahoma, or South Carolina.

If prescription delivery isn’t available near you or you need your medication right away, you can fill it at any pharmacy and file a claim for reimbursement later.6 Just make sure you have refills left on your prescription and the following information ready:

  • Your Kaiser Permanente medical record number
  • Names and phone numbers for the prescribing doctor and your current pharmacy
  • Your prescribed medication’s name, strength, and directions for use

While you’re away at college, your coverage and care options depend on what plan you have and where you get care.

Getting care in a Kaiser Permanente area: If you’ve gotten Kaiser Permanente care in that area before, your experience will be the same. If you’re in a Kaiser Permanente area where you’ve never gotten care, you’ll just need to create a new medical record number to schedule appointments and manage your care.

If you’re a Medicaid or Medi-Cal member, please note that your plan doesn’t cover routine in-person care outside of your home area. But you can still get 24/7 virtual care.1

Getting care outside a Kaiser Permanente area: You’re covered for urgent and emergency care when and where you need it.4 In the U.S., you can also get 24/7 virtual care from a Kaiser Permanente clinician online or through our app.1

Try to get routine in-person care like checkups and vaccines when you’re back home, or consider getting a student health plan through your school for more coverage.

If you’re a Medicaid or Medi-Cal member, please note that your plan doesn’t cover most international care. If you’re planning to travel outside the U.S., you may want to consider travel medical insurance for extra health coverage.

Learn more about getting care while away at college.

Outside the U.S., Medicaid members aren’t covered for care, and Medi-Cal members are only covered for emergency care that requires hospitalization in Canada and Mexico. If you have one of these plans and are planning an international trip, you may want to consider travel medical insurance for extra health coverage.

All other Kaiser Permanente plans cover urgent and emergency care anywhere in the world.1,4 You’ll need to pay the full cost of care upfront, but you can file a claim for reimbursement later.6

For more details about your coverage, please check your Evidence of Coverage or other coverage documents.

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Footnotes

  1. When appropriate and available. If you travel out of state, virtual care may be limited due to state laws that may prevent doctors from providing care across state lines. Laws differ by state.
    If you’re a Kaiser Permanente member in Oregon or in Washington’s Clark or Cowlitz County or have an HSA-qualified deductible plan, you’ll need to pay the full charges for e-visits, phone visits, and video visits until you reach your deductible. Once you reach your deductible, your copay is $0 for scheduled phone and video visits. Continue at 1
  2. This number can be dialed from both inside and outside the United States. Before the phone number, dial “001” for landlines and “+1” for mobile lines if you’re outside the country. Long-distance charges may apply, and we can’t accept collect calls. The phone line is closed on major holidays (New Year’s Day, Easter, Memorial Day, July Fourth, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas). It closes early the day before a holiday at 10 p.m. Pacific time (PT), and it reopens the day after a holiday at 4 a.m. PT., Continue at 2
  3. Service areas of health plans other than Hawaii and Washington, D.C., are not statewide. Continue at 3
  4. If you believe you have an emergency medical condition, call 911 or go to the nearest hospital. For the complete definition of an emergency medical condition, please refer to your Evidence of Coverage  or other coverage documents. Continue at 4
  5. Only commonly prescribed acute care medications prescribed during an urgent or emergency visit outside of Kaiser Permanente states are included in this benefit. Maintenance medications — like for blood pressure, diabetes, or cholesterol — and high-cost or specialty medications aren’t included, so you’ll have to pay for them upfront and file a claim for reimbursement. Continue at 5
  6. The amount members are reimbursed will depend on their copays or coinsurance whether they have a deductible, and other plan limitations, consistent with the terms of the member’s Evidence of Coverage  or other coverage documents. Continue at 6