travel insurance?

[Psamathe]

One thing I don't quite understand about the EHIC card is that I can't appreciate why you should need private jets and the like to get you home for treatment outside the cover of the card. I would have expected whatever European country you are injured in to have treated you until such point as you can get back to the UK. So if your injuries are slow recovering to the point where you can travel then you spend longer being treated/recovering there. So if you can't afford a private jet, they can't turn you out on the street to suffer !!

I can see why somebody might have a strong preference to return home for treatment (where they can fully understand the language, have friends and family nearby, etc.) but from a medical perspective I thought the EHIC card should have covered getting you to a fit state to travel. Basically, you are in the same position as any resident of the country (subject to the constraints e.g. not visiting country for medical treatment, etc.).

Not that I'm suggesting travel insurance isn't worthwhile (I think it definitely is worthwhile), just that EHIC should cover a lot more than people seem to suggest. I can appreciate that there might be problems with "expectations) e.g. in France where many have "top-up" insurance to cover where treatments cost more than the state cover (or you have to find a hospital that will charge the state approved rate for the particular treatment).

Ian

[Sweep]

Sorry to hear about your experience climo, glad all worked out well.

But why would you ever have to pay 79,000€ to the italian health service? Wouldn't the EHIC cover you?

[climo]

Yes the EHIC did cover the 79k euros. However I was sent a bill stating that if the gov didn't pay up they would expect me to pay. I don't know what circumstances the gov wouldn't and I don't want to find out but imo its odd to get a direct bill & letter in those circumstances so I guess our dear ol' government may not pay its bills.

As for being treated until you're better, well, good luck with that. I wasn't in a fit state to travel (sit up, feed myself, etc) for many months and certainly couldn't travel by myself for 18 months. A plane was the only way.

As for any help from the British Embassy - forget it. They're more interested in their G&T's than their countrymen. They weren't the slightest bit helpful & couldn't even be bothered to supply a list of translators. It was shocking, truly shocking.
It took direct intervention from my MP to get me into an NHS hospital as my postcode was 'wrong' - 20 refused to have me as I was going to be a huge drain on their budget.

When you're injured the last thing you need is further stress about money & getting home, etc

[jamesgilbert]

A friends mum had to be admitted to a French hospital. They wouldn't take the EHIC only cash. This is apparently quite common in France nowadays as I expect our side don't pay their bills on time.

I don't believe the EHIC works by one country 'sending a bill' to another. It is a scheme that entitles you to be treated the same as a citizen of the country you are visiting, providing you are in a state hospital or seeing a state-registered doctor/dentist/etc. I imagine that they assume numbers of people travelling between countries are in the same ballpark and so it all cancels out.

As a French resident I have to pay when I go to see the doctor (about 20 euros), of which 70% is automatically reimbursed at a later date. This is the same for a UK resident with a EHIC, but you obviously need to send off some forms for the reimbursement. In a state hospital patients have to pay part of the costs, about 20%, plus a small daily charge for the length of the hospital stay. Private hospitals are a different matter entirely, and only travel insurance might work... I can see how this system might be a bit of a shock for those used to the NHS

The situation is different in each EU country, I'd recommend the following two websites:

NHS: http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthcare ... tries.aspx
Money Saving Expert: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/free-ehic-card

[Psamathe]

A friends mum had to be admitted to a French hospital. They wouldn't take the EHIC only cash. This is apparently quite common in France nowadays as I expect our side don't pay their bills on time.

I don't believe the EHIC works by one country 'sending a bill' to another. It is a scheme that entitles you to be treated the same as a citizen of the country you are visiting, providing you are in a state hospital or seeing a state-registered doctor/dentist/etc. I imagine that they assume numbers of people travelling between countries are in the same ballpark and so it all cancels out.

As a French resident I have to pay when I go to see the doctor (about 20 euros), of which 70% is automatically reimbursed at a later date. This is the same for a UK resident with a EHIC, but you obviously need to send off some forms for the reimbursement. In a state hospital patients have to pay part of the costs, about 20%, plus a small daily charge for the length of the hospital stay. Private hospitals are a different matter entirely, and only travel insurance might work... I can see how this system might be a bit of a shock for those used to the NHS :wink:

The situation is different in each EU country, I'd recommend the following two websites:

NHS: http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthcare ... tries.aspx
Money Saving Expert: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/free-ehic-card

My understanding as well. You get the same cover as a resident of the country you are being treated in, NOT the same cover as the NHS. And you then have to reclaim money paid from the UK gov. and you would get the same refund as a resident of the country you are treated in, NOT to make everything free as per under the NHS.

Ian

[jamesgilbert]

My understanding as well. You get the same cover as a resident of the country you are being treated in, NOT the same cover as the NHS. And you then have to reclaim money paid from the UK gov. and you would get the same refund as a resident of the country you are treated in, NOT to make everything free as per under the NHS.

Ian

Nearly, but at least for France, you claim money back from the French health service, not when you're back in the UK. There's a form you have to fill in along with some other details (like your bank account info), to be sent off to the local health centre.

You could argue it would be easier to just pay the reduced rate to start with, but since when have the French been into reducing red tape?

[Psamathe]

My understanding as well. You get the same cover as a resident of the country you are being treated in, NOT the same cover as the NHS. And you then have to reclaim money paid from the UK gov. and you would get the same refund as a resident of the country you are treated in, NOT to make everything free as per under the NHS.

Ian

Nearly, but at least for France, you claim money back from the French health service, not when you're back in the UK. There's a form you have to fill in along with some other details (like your bank account info), to be sent off to the local health centre.

You could argue it would be easier to just pay the reduced rate to start with, but since when have the French been into reducing red tape? :wink:

I understood it depends on who is actually doing the paying. When I lived in France I had a Carte Vitale so CPAM paid the refund. But others would have been covered by their employee associations so a different organisation paying the refund. So I assume the same applies to EHIC refunds. To operate a different scheme would just move the red tape to the medical service provider rather than the payment organisation.

But maybe I misunderstood (as I was only ever covered under CPAM) or maybe things have changed since I returned to UK.

Ian