California's insurance commissioner has some advice for people traveling or preparing to travel outside the United States during the H1N1 (swine flu) outbreak: Look at your health insurance polices and know what it covers before you pack your bags.

It's good advice whether you're planning a trip or not. Too often people don't look at insurance policies until they get bills for prescriptions, medical visits or hospital stays they assumed were going to be paid by their insurance plans.

Here's some tips from Commissioner Steve Poizner I thought I'd pass along:

-- Have your health insurance ID card handy.

-- Review your health insurance policy provisions. Know which doctors and hospitals are in your network.

-- Make note of your co-payments. Know how much a doctor's office visit will cost. Check to see if your co-payments go up if you go out-of-network.

-- Keep handy a list of pharmacies and medications covered by your health insurance policy.

-- If you have plans to travel, make sure you check to see if there are any doctors or medical facilities in-network where you will be visiting.

-- Make sure you have contact details for your health insurance company available in case you have questions.

-- Ask your employer for any and all applicable health insurance information that might be prepared for you in one simple-to-reference form. Post this information where it can easily be accessed, whether at home or the office.

The federal government has created a Web site with information.