Health

Taliban forces began assaulting Kunduz, a city of 300,000 people in northern Afghanistan, on Sept. 28, taking control of large portions of the city on Sept. 29-30. During the fighting, at least 40 people were killed and more than 300 were injured, most of them civilians.

Taliban fighters attempted to take the Kunduz airport from NATO forces on Sept. 29 but were rebuffed by American air strikes. On Sept. 30, Taliban fighters took the Bala Hissar fortress, a strategic hilltop army position in Kunduz, from Afghani forces.

The Department of State urges travelers to exercise caution when visiting Haiti, given Haiti’s weak emergency-response infrastructure. Medical facilities in Haiti, including ambulance services, are particularly weak. Some US citizens injured in accidents and others with serious health concerns have had to arrange and pay for medical evacuation to the US. The State Department strongly encourages visitors to Haiti to obtain evacuation insurance.

S.L. PEEK, Jr., of Starke, FL, wrote to ITN, “In the August ’97 is­sue, page 4, was a question con­cerning whether Medicare benefits would be paid overseas.

“The 1996 Medicare Handbook states, ‘Medicare in general will not pay for health care obtained outside the U.S. and its territories. There are some very limited excep­tions for care obtained in Canada or Mexico.’

Among the choices to be made regarding travel insurance, emergency medical evacuation coverage continues to be what I recommend most.

I believe that emergency medical evacuation coverage is a must for overseas travelers (and especially for seniors). This coverage is so rarely used that it can be relatively inexpensive to purchase, and it is often available at no or very little extra cost through a variety of “clubs” or affinity groups.