I have looked at previous threads and cannot find the answer to my question. Exactly what does the EHIC card cover you for in France? OH had to see a doctor yesterday and then go to the hospital with very nasty cuts on his leg and arm.We paid 23€ for the doctor but because it was late in the evening, there was no-one there to charge us for the hospital visit. The nurse said they would probably send the bill to our home address. What is the point of the EHIC card if you have to pay and claim back from your health insurance?
Jean
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It gives you the same health benefits in an EU country as the citizens of that country get - and that isn't always the same as our NHS provides for us , so that's why it's often recommended that you top up EHIC with a health insurance policy.
The card gives you the same level of treatment as the state health service(if any)of the EU country that you are in, not the same level as the UK NHS. In many EU countries it is normal for people to have some level of private health care as part of their salary packages so their state health services are often not quite as 'free' as the NHS.
In France you have to pay to see a GP(8€)I think & also hospital accommodation costs & so on. I think in France you can claim some money back that you might have paid but you have to claim from hospital with forms in French.
One thing you need to be careful of in Spain for example is being directed to a private hospital if you ask for advice from campsite or hotel reception(who are being 'bunged' by the hospital), the hospital will ask for your credit card number & you end up being billed for €1000s. In Spain if you are relying just on EHIC you need to ensure you go to a state hospital & even then they won't pay for long term care.
I'm guessing the newer EU states like Romania for example may have very little state funded health care so your EHIC will be little use there so its best to have health insurance cover as well
My daughter become ill in France a couple of years ago and so we took her to the doctor where we paid for her treatment in Euros and kept the receipt. She was then admitted to Les Sables D Olonne hospital,when we arrived we were asked for my daughers EHIC card which i think they photocopied. On leaving the hospital 4 days later we were told that the bill for my daughters treatment would be sent to our home address- it arrived about 3 months later. I then rang the Overseas Healthcare Team and they told me to convert the total amount to be paid into pounds,send the cheque to France and to make sure i asked for a receipt. Once i had the receipt i contacted the Overseas Healthcare Team again who sent me a claim form which i had to fill in and send back to them with the receipts from both the doctors visit and the hospital stay. All of the money i had paid out was then refunded into my bank account.
I hope this helps and i hope that your OH is ok,
Julie
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I have to have regular blood tests at the moment ... used hospitals in Germany, Italy and France this summer.
In Germany - Excellent service, no charges
In Italy - Very good service, though equipment not as modern as Germany or UK, no charges
In France - Hospital couldn't do it, they sent a pro nurse to the campsite, who gave me details of a private testing lab to go to. The lab did the blood test, not as up to date gear as UK or Germany ... Nurse visited campsite again to check that everything had gone OK ... had to pay 12 euros for the blood tests ...
which is reclaimable in the UK if you fill forms etc ... I haven't bothered.
Seven years ago, my daughter had a bike accident in the Dolomites ... handlebars smashed into her mouth ... badly cut upper lip, broken gums and two very loose teeth. Italian ambulance carted her an OH to hospital ... emergency operation .... two nights in hospital ... superlative service and results.
EHIC cards were never requested for any of the above.
We still carry them, in case.
If you get taken away in an emergency ambulance in France, the red ones run by the fire brigade, you get billed several £100, reclaimable? I know not. Last time I went to see a GP in France was about 10yrs ago so yes, the cost could well have risen & the op visit to doc was out of hours.
Not as bad as USA tho. On telly an English bloke involved in a road accident in the states was asked when payment for his treatment was first mentioned, he replied "while I was still lying in the road".
We had to go to a&e with my 10 year old this summer because he had some small stones stuck in his ear (don't ask!).
On presentation of his EHIC card and passport they gave me a form to complete and sign which stated that the EHIC covered the first 80% (paid by the Fench Social Security System) and we were liable for the remaining 20%. However, if you have holiday insurance you fill in the insurance details and they are billed directly for the 20%. We didn't have any insurance!
The nurse saw us and sent us back to the waiting room until the doctor was free to see us. My son started to shake his head around and managed to dislodge the stones (we had already tried this, and several other things at the campsite). He shook them out onto his hand and we took them to show the nurse. The doctor had a quick look in my son's ear and gave us some ear wash. He then said we could go home and thankfully they didn't charge us!
Next year we'll get insurance!
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I think everyone should have back up travel insurance. We had a friend, fit and well, who had a massive heart attack whilst walking in the Pyrenees. He had to be helicoptered off the mountain, taken to a local hospital, transferred by helicopter to a specialist hospital, was in ICU for a week, a local hospital for a month, and had to be air ambulanced, with a medic, back to the UK.
Some (but very little) of this would have been covered by his EHIC. All of it was covered by his £12.99 travel insurance policy.
Don't risk it without insurance. Even the cheapest deal can save you thousands of pounds!
We used ours in Holland when my daughter had a hand injury and had to go to A&E and have xrays. My husband was in a bit of a flap at the time (he's shut her hand in the car door!) and we didn't take her EHIC card to the hospital, but gave our UK address to the nurse and receptionist. A few months later we got a bill, we phoned the hospital and they asked me to post them a photocopy of her EHIC card, which we did and that was that. We didn't have to actually pay anything.
Agree with Val - always take out health insurance. Although the EHIC will cover you for treatment in the country, it will not re-patriate you, so if in the unlikely event you had to be brought home by plane, ambulance etc. without private insurance you would have to pay this
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Topic: EHIC
