Medical Emergencies

If you need consular assistance with a medical emergency, call the U.S. Embassy at 400-7200 (after hours 400-7266). The receptionist or Marine guard will connect you to a consular officer.

Consular staff can help you to find medical treatment and to coordinate payment of your medical bills, as well as acting as liaison between your family and doctors if you are unable to communicate for yourself. If you require a medical evacuation, the Consular Section will help you arrange for transfer to a more advanced medical facility in the United States or another country.

Medical evacuations from Nepal are typically quite expensive ($10,000 - $50,000), and can take several days to arrange. Flights out of Kathmandu are limited, and patients must be certified as fit to travel by air before they can be moved. Either the airline or the hospital may require that a patient travel with a medical escort, which the Embassy can help to arrange. The Consular Section will work with your hospital and airline to make sure the authorization and ticketing process moves as quickly as possible.

Additionally, most local medical facilities require payment for services before a patient can be discharged. The Consular Section can help you to contact your financial institution, insurance company, friends or relatives in order to arrange for payment. In some limited circumstances, government loans may be available to help you meet the cost of emergency medical care.