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EHIC Mis-understandings
EHIC Mis-understandings | Common misconceptions regarding the EHIC |
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  The EHIC entitles the card holder to any necessary medical treatment due to either an accident or illness within the EEA. The EHIC entitles the holder to state-provided medical treatment within the country they are visiting and the service provided will be the same as received by a person covered by the country's 'insured' medical scheme. The key area here is that any that very few EEA countries provide totally free “state-provided medical treatment” and, as the entitlement is intended to provide cover at a level the same as received by a person covered by the country's 'insured' medical scheme, do not expect it to be totally free! Additionally, as this entitlement is for “state-provided medical treatment” it is also not intended for treatment at a ‘private hospital’. Should you require medical treatment abroad, you need not necessarily have any opportunity to choose where you are taken! " Indeed, we recently heard of a situation where an EHIC holder had to be taken to a hospital in France, only to be faced with an invoice for the room only of €200 a day! " Certain are specifically excluded, such as, repatriation to the UK, private ambulance and incidentals such as accommodating a relative in a nearby hotel, and it is not valid for those travelling abroad with the express intention of to seeking medical treatment. To summarise, then, the cover provided by the EHIC is intended to cover travellers to an EEA country to the same degree as a national is covered under the State scheme. So if the State scheme of the member country you are visiting does not provide 100% cover, then neither will the EHIC. For more information visit: http://www.fco.gov.uk |
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