Rupee Volatility & US Medical Costs: Why NRIs Advise Buying Travel Health Cover Before Flying?

Last Updated: November 14, 2025 by Michael Kahn. Published: November 14, 2025.

Medical expenses can quickly become overwhelming due to currency fluctuations for Indians residing in the United States. In order to protect your finances from such instances while travelling to the US, NRIs strongly recommend getting a comprehensive travel medical insurance policy before departure from India. In this aspect, we’ll discuss some precautionary steps so you can ensure seamless access to healthcare across the US with travel insurance.

The Rising Cost of Healthcare in the United States

Healthcare in the United States (US) can be highly costly. Many travellers often underestimate how expensive medical services can be without insurance coverage. Some of the common costs of healthcare across the US include:

A general practitioner’s consultations usually cost between $100 to $300. A single day of hospital stay may range from $3,000 to $5,000, it also depends on the hospital and the city. These costs can become extremely high when converted to Indian rupees. The currency difference magnifies the burden, specifically during periods when the rupee weakens against the dollar.

The Impact Of Rupee Volatility On The Expenses Of The Travellers

Currency appreciation or depreciation is an unseen element that most travellers do not consider when planning their visit. When the rupee depreciates against the dollar, then everything bought overseas will be more expensive. This involves food, accommodation, transport and above all, health care.

A 5% decline in the rupee can eventually increase costs to the dollar payers sharply. For instance, a 10,000 USD medical bill would cost approximately ₹8.3 lakh at an ₹83 per dollar exchange rate, then, at ₹87 per dollar, the same bill would cost almost ₹8.7 lakh. These oscillations occur quite often and are not predictable. The exchange rate may be affected by global events, inflation data, and changes in interest rates in the United States and other nations as well.

Why NRIs Stress the Importance of Travel Health Insurance?

NRIs who have worked and resided in the United States are aware of the practical aspect of its healthcare system. Their recommendation to buy travel health insurance​ for friends and family is based on the actual experiences of unexpected emergencies.

The reasons are as follows:

• Financial protection: Insurance changes medical bills, which can be reimbursed or settled directly.
• Loss of care: Insured travellers receive priority since hospitals have confidence in insurers regarding direct payment modalities.
• Emergency assistance: Many of these policies often have help lines for travellers to get assistance in reaching a hospital, getting an ambulance and medical evacuation.

Comparing Insurance Costs vs. Medical Bills

The comparison between the potential medical expenses and their conversion to Indian rupees highlights the significance of securing travel and health insurance​. Some of the key healthcare expenses include:

Expense Type	Approximate Cost (in USD)	Approximate Cost (in INR)
Doctor Consultation	$150 to $300	₹12,500
ER Visit	$2,000 to $4,000	₹1.7 lakh
Hospitalisation (3 days)	$10,000 to $15,000	₹10 lakh
Surgery	$50,000 to $60,000	₹41 lakh

Selecting the Right Travel Health Plan

The most important thing to coverage is the right policy. The travellers are recommended to make comparisons and take into account both economic and medical factors for selecting the best travel health insurance.

Key points to evaluate:

• Sum insured: Select coverage between $40,000 to $1,000,000 based on the travel time and health of the person.
• Cashless network: Check that the insurer has networks with the known US hospitals to allow cashless treatment.
• Pre-existing conditions: Report all past health issues correctly; various insurers partially cover stable ailments.
• Emergency evacuation: Make sure that the plan includes air ambulance and repatriation to India as necessary.
• Services: Choose the insurers that provide multilingual services and 24-hour customer service.

If you are looking to buy travel health insurance online​ that has all of these features, you can have a look at the HDFC ERGO international travel insurance. They feature round-the-clock assistance to more than 1,00,000+ cashless hospitals worldwide.

Guidance from NRIs and Frequent Travellers

Seasoned NRIs tend to offer first-hand guidance to visiting family members so that they can avoid making many of the typical errors. They highly encourage people to buy insurance before they leave India to get the best prices.

Their effective advice is:

• Purchasing travel health insurance plans in India to take advantage of the low currency rates and larger plans.
• Having physical and electronic copies of policy documents so that they are easily accessible.
• Aligning policy terms with the visa duration to avoid policy lapse.
• Going through the claim procedure and reviewing insurance provider policyholders’ reviews to be aware of their services.

These steps would help conserve time, money, and stress in the case of emergencies.

Final Thoughts

Rupee volatility and high US medical expenses can make travel health insurance an essential financial protection for Indians travelling abroad. Following NRI advice can prevent both financial and emotional distress. A valuable insurance premium provides reliable protection that ensures unexpected medical issues do not turn into a significant financial burden for you.