E111 health card

[sea-sidelady]

My son has had a holiday bought for him, he is going on Saturday to Spain.

 

He hasn't got a health card, he has just found out it can take 2 weeks and he can't travel without it.

 

He has holiday insurance and always takes out extra as he has got severe Haemophilia.

 

But as you can imagine he is worried sick now.

[Ell-enn]

Who checks that you've got a health card?

 

Funnily enough my son is going to Spain golfing on Wednesday and I asked him if he knoew where his card was - of course he can't find it can he!!! But he says no-one checked he had one when he went last year.

[andydd]

Does anyone actually understand all the procedures involving insurance when travelling to Europe, trecently one late night there wsa a flurry of adverts on TV going on about various cards and stuff and I didnt understand it then.

 

I recently went mountain biking in france and I recall seeing some literate about some other sort of card, cant recall what it was though.

 

Andy

[Bookworm]

SSL, don't worry.

 

An EHIC (they haven't been called E111 for a long time now, lol) is proof that you are an EU resident and are therefore entitled to the same health care as you would in the UK. If something were to go wrong, then he would get the care in a state hospital anyway and he could get them the info at a later stage.

 

Depending on where he's going, odds that he would be taken to a private clinic anyway and his EHIC would make no difference, as they deal with private travel insurances only.

 

I take it that he has declared his PMH to the insurance company and is covered adequately, yes? No exclusions or anything like that? This is what you need to make absolutely certain of, so double-check his insurance cover. E-mail me a copy if you want me to take a professional look to it. (Hey, I have my uses! )

[Ell-enn]

How about if he applied on line and got confirmation of the application he could print that out and take it with him ?

[Bookworm]

Does anyone actually understand all the procedures involving insurance when travelling to Europe, trecently one late night there wsa a flurry of adverts on TV going on about various cards and stuff and I didnt understand it then.

 

I recently went mountain biking in france and I recall seeing some literate about some other sort of card, cant recall what it was though.

 

Andy

Well, it's quite simple:

 

The EHIC covers treatment in state facilities by a reciprocal agreement between the member states. But it only covers up to the way it would be covered in that country. For example, in France where you get different percentages according to the severity of the condition, the EHIC could cover from only 50% for a relatively minor problem while a major problem would be covered 100%. The thing is then the difference would be up to you to pay, unless you have private travel insurance.

 

Ok. Now, in a lot of tourist countries, some bright entrepreneurs have realised what a cash cow sick tourists are and have agreements with hotels and tour op so that if you get sick, you will get carted to a private clinic and hooked up on a drip whether you want to or not and won't let you go until your travel insurance agrees to cover it.

 

It is to be noted that in some countries such as Italy and Greece, if you are taken to a state hospital, the standards of care tend to be poor and the families of the sick are expected to contribute to the care of the patient a lot, so it is often a good idea to end up in private clinics anyway.

 

If you go anywhere outside the EU, you MUST have travel insurance or you could get landed with massive costs. ALso to be noted that places like Austria, even though they should be under the EHIC system, do not like it very much with foreign travellers and tend to ask you to pay first, reclaim next.... which Social Security here doesn't like doing, lol.

 

So in summary: EHIC card for the EU + Europe cover travel insurance, Worldwide travel insurance for everywhere else.

 

Oh, and Australia has a system called Medicare which is usually free to UK residents.

 

I would also advise anyone going to the US to have a credit card with a high avaialble credit limit on it, as they are very reluctant to accept travel insurance and won't treat you unless they know you have the means to pay. Sometimes, by the time your assistance company has managed to get them to accept billing, valuable time has been wasted, so play it safe.

 

Finally, remember that the EHIC will not cover your repat costs or additional expenses, flight etc, so it indispensable to have good travel insurance anyway or wealthy relatives.

 

Any other questions, shoot.

[mustang67]

For the unaware, an EHIC is provided FREE of charge, but there are sites out there that will charge you £9.95 for example.

Anyone applying make sure that you are on a legitimate site like

www.nhs.uk/healthcareabroad

 

On there you will find a link for applications.

 

Remember that an EHIC is FREE.

[sea-sidelady]

Thanks every one. He feels so much better now.

Bookie I will have a look at his insurance and if im concerned i will forward it to you.

 

(Hey, I have my uses! )

 

Apart from getting me leggless??...im impressed!! :lol: hahaha x

[andie_303]

I went to spain in July and had a bit of a run in with a piece of glass on the beach which needed some stitches in my foot. I went to the hospital and was asked for my EHIC of course I could tell them exactly where it was in my bedside table in England!!!

 

They accepted my passport as proof of EU residency and that was that - I did have insurance as well but they didn't even ask for it and a claim was never made.

[sea-sidelady]

Thanks Andie

 

Hope it didn't spoil your holiday.

[Bookworm]

 

Apart from getting me leggless??...im impressed!! :lol: hahaha x

Well, legless is no good for those fishnet stockings, madam.

[andydd]

I would also advise anyone going to the US to have a credit card with a high avaialble credit limit on it, as they are very reluctant to accept travel insurance and won't treat you unless they know you have the means to pay. Sometimes, by the time your assistance company has managed to get them to accept billing, valuable time has been wasted, so play it safe.

 

 

 

 

..and they have the cheek to get in a tizzy and slag our our NHS !

[demagbk10]

A little bit late I know, but have only just joined. After spending a week in Corfu General Hospital in October I won't have a word said against our NHS. Don't get me wrong the doctor's and nurses over there worked their socks off, but the building was crumbling around them. I know the NHS has some glaring problems but I definitely appreciate it more than ever now.

Edited December 11, 2009 by demagbk10

[sea-sidelady]

Welcome to CAG.

 

And you are right, we moan about our hospitals, waiting list as so forth, but we do have it good here.

[Guest wino]

Last year I slipped on a wet floor and ended up with a visit to a hospital in Palma. I handed in my EHIC card and they were not intrested they wanted my insurance details. I had broken my arm so had x-rays and a cast. The staff were brilliant apart from the girl who cut off my wedding ring, she cut through my finger aswell.

 

I had a battle to get the insurance company to pay out and even when they eventually did because of the value of the £ to Euro by then I had to pay £300 on top myself to make up the difference.

 

So I don't know why I bothered getting the EHIC card:(

[demagbk10]

Believe it or not when I was in Corfu I had left my EHIC card in the bedside drawer at home! Thomas Cook put my wife up in a hotel in Corfu Town and she got taxi's to see me each day. Each day the doctors asked for the card. She phoned my son at home, he took the card to the local Thomas Cook shop and they faxed a copy to the hotel. My wife brought the copy to the hospital and they were overjoyed to see it, no really they were. So it would appear in Greece it really does work.

[reallymadwoman]

Don't know if it would apply equally to in patient treatment, but the A & E department of Paphos hospital accepted speaking English as evidence of entitlement to free treatment - didn't ask for EHIC or even a passport, and didn't charge a penny. They were also incredibly efficient - OH was seen and treated within 10 minutes of arrival at 10.30 on a Saturday night.

[ScarletPimpernel]

Just to enlarge on what Bookworm says, the state run hospitals in Spain are of a high standard, whilst many of the private clinics there are not - as Wino has discovered (I can guess which clinic). Beware recommendations from tour operator's reps, and even some assistance companies.

 

With the EHIC, it is possible for bills to be settled retrospectively, but it can be a lot of hassle and not recommended.

[Guest]

Hi

I’ m on dialysis and have just got back from Portugal. I had to fax a copy of my EHIC to Faro hospital before they would agree my slot.

Whilst I was there I found out I could have paid but it would have cost me 180 Euros per session, I needed six sessions.

Good old NHS.

[twofoot]

Can I add that I live in Spain and can tell you that like all other countries we have both private and NHS. Your uk health card is no good in a private hospital, they want paying. Don't assume you are in a government hospital, there are a lot more private ones.