Overseas FAQs (2024)

Frequently asked questions about overseas coverage.

Yes, your Service Benefit Plan coverage protects you around the world. Benefits for covered services under FEP Blue Focus®, FEP Blue Basic™ and FEP Blue Standard™are paid at the Preferred level. Physician care performed outside the U.S. is paid at the Preferred level using an Overseas Fee Schedule or a provider-negotiated amount. You may be responsible for differences between our payment and the provider charge since overseas providers do not agree to accept our payment as payment in full in all cases. See Section 5(i) in the Service Benefit Plan brochure for more information about how benefits are paid for care performed overseas.

The GeoBlue Pre-Departure Program is here to help you manage your transition to a new country with advice, support and answers to any health questions you might have. Healthcare experts can give you personalized advice on maintaining and managing your health while overseas. These experts can also help you find a doctor in the country you’re going to and make sure you can still get any medicine you need.

The Pre-Departure Program offers:

• Personalized consultations with healthcare experts before you leave to help you and your family know what to expect in your new host country
• Help with planning your healthcare needs in your new host country
• Guidance to quality healthcare professionals to avoid any disruption of care

As part of the GeoBlue Pre-Departure Program, the Pre-Departure Questionnaire gives us information about your medical needs. You can complete the questionnaire to prepare for your upcoming travel. You can access the questionnaire here.

If you choose to speak with a healthcare expert, you will receive personalized advice on maintaining and managing your health in your new living situation. There is a link to frequently asked questions on the last page of the questionnaire.

Filing your overseas medical and pharmacy claims online is easy and provides faster processing and claims payment. You can do so by logging on to our secure member website, MyBlue^®.

If you already have a MyBlue account, login with your username and password here.

If you need to register for an account, click here.

Please note that to complete registration, you will need information from a recent Explanation of Benefits (EOB) or your Personal Identification Number (PIN). In the U.S., you can get a PIN by calling 1-800-411-BLUE (2583) and following the prompts for help setting up a MyBlue account. If you are overseas, please call customer service at 1-888-999-9862 from 5:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Eastern time, Monday through Friday.

Once you’ve logged in to MyBlue, click the Submit Overseas Claims link in the main navigation under Claims & Costs.

In order to submit claims electronically, you will need:

• Your policy information.
• Claim(s) information.
• Relevant receipts or bills.

You can find our Overseas Medical Claim Form and the Retail Prescription Drug Overseas Claim Form here, or you can call 1-888-999-9862 to request that we send you the claim forms.

If you access a claim form on our website, you can enter the information directly on the form; print a copy to send to us and save a copy for your records.

In most situations, you will need to pay the provider up front and submit a completed Overseas Medical Claim Form and your itemized bills to us at:

FEP Overseas
P.O. Box 1568
Southeastern, PA 19399

You may also fax your claims to us at 1-610-293-3529.

Payment for covered services will be sent to you. If the provider does not require payment at the time the care is performed, you may request we pay the provider directly by filling out section 5C (Authorization for the Assignment of Benefits) of the charges and payment information on the claim form, and leaving the Member Payment Information and sections 5A and 5B (Bank Wire Information) blank. Send the claim form along with the itemized bills from the provider to the address or fax number listed above and on the back of the claim form. Section 3A must include the diagnosis or reason for the services in order to process your claim.

To file a claim for covered drugs and supplies you purchase from pharmacies outside of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, send a completed Retail Prescription Drug Overseas Claim Form, along with itemized pharmacy receipts or bills to:

Blue Cross and Blue Shield
Service Benefit Plan
Retail Pharmacy Program
P.O. Box 52057Phoenix,
AZ 85072-2057

You can also fax your claim to us at 001-480-614-7674.

An itemized bill must be on the provider’s letterhead or the equivalent and must include:

• Name of the patient.
• Name and address of the person or firm providing the service or supply.
• Date for each service or supply. If your claim contains a range of dates, we must have the exact date, service rendered, and charge for each specified date within the range.
• Type or description for each service or supply.
• The diagnosis for each service or supply.
• The charge for each service or supply.

Claims from a military facility must be made payable to the provider unless the claim contains proof that the member has already paid the provider. The itemized bill or receipt from the provider must clearly state the claim was paid up front.

Please note, we cannot accept a statement of account or a payment reminder as an itemized bill. To be considered valid and itemized, the bill must include the information listed above.

Complete Section 5, Reimbursem*nt Information, of the Overseas Medical Claim Form. Effective January 1, 2019, we are no longer able to provide local currency check reimbursem*nt. Payments to members via wire transfer can only be made to the contract holder’s account.

Please note a wire transfer may take longer to process than a paper check in U.S. dollars.If you do not select your reimbursem*nt option, payment will be made by check in U.S. dollars.

Payments for covered drugs and supplies you purchase from pharmacies outside of the United States and Puerto Rico will only be made by check in U.S. dollars.

Note concerning the Authorization For Assignment of Benefits section on the claim form - Please remember that if you would like to have our payment assigned (made payable to the provider of service), the Authorization for Assignment of Benefits section on the Overseas Medical Claim Form must be completed in its entirety.

We need certain information to properly process your claim. You may experience a delay while we try to get all the information we need from you.

Here are some commonly omitted items that cause claim delays. We hope that providing this information to you will enable us to serve you better by reducing delays.

Commonly MISSING items on the Overseas Medical Claim Form and/or the provider’s bill include:

• Diagnosis or reason for treatment.
• Accident date or date of onset of injury.
• Patient’s complete name on both the bill and the claim form.
• U.S. brand name (or generic equivalent) for drugs purchased - if you do not have this information, please provide the insert that comes with the drug (usually a white sheet of paper that describes the drug).
• Description of medical or dental services performed.
• Description of surgical procedure performed.
• Length of time patient was anesthetized.
• Signature of the member.
• Dates of service - a range of dates, such as indicating “10 visits between January and March,” is not sufficient. We must have each individual date that medical service was provided. We also need to have inpatient dates of service when you are hospitalized.
• If available, please submit any supporting medical records, such as medical orders and notes with the claim to prevent unnecessary claim delays.

We have a network of professional providers who have agreed to accept a negotiated amount as payment in full for their services. You can view a list of our network providers here. Members who find a provider through their MyBlue account will have access to additional provider information. The Overseas Assistance Center can also help you locate a hospital or physician in our network closest to your area.

If you are overseas and need assistance locating providers (whether in or out of network), contact the Overseas Assistance Center.

Overseas: 1-804-673-1678
U.S., Puerto Rico, or the U.S. Virgin Islands: 1-800-699-4337 (toll-free)
Email: fepoverseas@geo-blue.com

For your convenience, you can contact one of the multilingual operators at the Overseas Assistance Center 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

We don’t produce printed provider directories. You can access the most comprehensive directory online here.

If you would like a list of hospitals and providers in your area, you can also call our Overseas Assistance Center at 1-804-673-1678 (if you’re currently in the U.S., Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands, call 1-800-699-4337. You can also email them at fepoverseas@geo-blue.com.

We are committed to expanding our overseas provider network. If you would like to nominate your provider, click thelinkto download our Overseas Provider Nomination Form and save the form to your computer.Once you complete the form, email it tofepoverseas@geo-blue.com or fax it to 1-610-293-3529.

If you are traveling outside the country and need a pharmacy, you can call 1-800-624-5060for 24/7 assistance with understandingyour overseas benefits.

If you are a FEP Blue Standardmember or if you are a FEP Blue Basicmember with Medicare Part B primary, your coverage includes our Mail Service Pharmacy benefit. You can order prescription drugs through the Mail Service Pharmacy if:

• Your address includes a U.S. zip code (such as with DPO, APO and FPO addresses and in U.S. territories),
• The prescribing physician is licensed in the United States, Puerto Rico, or the U.S. Virgin Islands and
• Delivery of the prescription is permitted by law and is in accordance with the manufacturer’s guidelines. Temperature sensitive drugs cannot be shipped overseas, for these medications your Retail overseas cost share will apply.

We suggest you contact Caremark directly to ensure your specific drug can be mailed overseas.You may contact them by calling 1-800-262-7890 or by writing to them at:

Blue Cross and Blue Shield Service Benefit Plan
Retail Pharmacy Program
P.O. Box 52057Phoenix, AZ 85072-2080

You may be eligible for an extended filling of the prescription from Caremark while overseas or before going overseas, so you may also want to discuss this with Caremark. Please note this will require a prescription from your doctor for 12 months and is not applicable for controlled substances.

Members who live overseas can purchase drugs from an overseas pharmacy, as long as the drugs are shipped to the member’s overseas address. We do not cover drugs purchased from overseas online or mail pharmacies for our members currently living in the United States.

You cannot order drugs through the Mail Order or Specialty Pharmacy if you have an APO or FPO shipping address in Germany, due to current German law. You must get your prescriptions at a local pharmacy in Germany and submit the claim for reimbursem*nt. You will be charged the lesser of the Mail Order, Specialty or Retail cost share when submitting claims for covered drugs obtained at a local retail pharmacy in Germany. Temperature sensitive drugs cannot be shipped overseas to any country, for these medications your Retail overseas cost share will apply.

If you reside in Germany and have a DPO military address, you can receive non-cold pack medication delivery through the Mail Order and Specialty Pharmacy.

No. Since there are no Preferred retail pharmacies located overseas, you will need to purchase your prescription and pay out of pocket, then submit your receipt and a completed claim to receive reimbursem*nt. You can file your overseas claim by completing your Retail Prescription Drug Overseas Claim Form online by logging onto your MyBlue account or by mailing or faxing in your claim.

*Note for Guam, Puerto Rico & U.S. Virgin Islands: Guam, Puerto Rico & U.S. Virgin Islands are considered overseas, however some pharmacies may be able to bill electronically.

No. We do not coordinate benefits on overseas claims. We provide reimbursem*nt based off of the cost submitted.

You can order prescription drugs through the Specialty Drug Pharmacy Program if:

• Your address includes a U.S. zip code (such as with DPO, APO and FPO addresses and in U.S. territories),
• The prescribing physician is licensed in the United States, Puerto Rico, or the U.S. Virgin Islands and
• Delivery of the prescription is permitted by law and is in accordance with the manufacturer’s guidelines. Temperature sensitive drugs cannot be shipped overseas, for these medications your Retail overseas cost share will apply.

We suggest you contact CVS Specialty directly to ensure your specific drug can be mailed overseas. You may contact them by calling 1-888-346-3731 or by writing to them at:

CVS Specialty
Service Benefit Plan
Specialty Pharmacy Program
P.O. Box 52080
Phoenix, AZ 85072-2080

You may be eligible for an extended filling of the prescription from CVS Specialty while overseas or before going overseas, so you may also want to discuss this with the pharmacy. Please note this will require a prescription from your doctor for 12 months and is not applicable for controlled substances.