The EHIC Card and Free Medical Treatment in Europe

Mar 19
13:14

2015

Lisa Jeeves

Lisa Jeeves

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The position regarding the EHIC Card and free medical treatment in the EU is complex. Here, some of the key issues are highlighted.

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The EHIC Card is without doubt one of the most publicly visible and popular outcomes of the European Union and related integration. However,The EHIC Card and Free Medical Treatment in Europe Articles it is widely misperceived to be ‘free medical and travel insurance’. In fact it isn’t and the position regarding its use can be complicated by the different prevailing rules and regulations in individual European countries.

Here are some of those explored in a little more detail.

Free treatment

The confusion has its origin in certain fallacious assumptions about the nature of health treatment in the European Union. Those assumptions broadly arise from a misconception that all medical treatment in Europe, at least that of a major nature, is free. In fact, the United Kingdom’s NHS is comparatively unusual in offering a wide range of medical treatment that is free at the point of service to all comers. Many other European countries have systems whereby the state will pay a percentage of the cost with the individual or their medical insurance meeting the balance. You might also need to prove your entitlement to treatment.

It’s worth remembering, therefore, that the EHIC card provides you with emergency medical treatment rights that are the same as those available to a local citizen of the country concerned. If elements of their emergency health cover is not free at source than it won’t be to you either.

A closely related error of assumption here is that somehow the EHIC card provides you with NHS level treatment abroad. It doesn’t. The system does not attempt to provide cardholders with the same treatment they would get in their home country. It simply gives them the same treatment that citizens of the country they are visiting would get on a free basis.

It is not a system designed to allow you to carry a version of the NHS in your pocket when travelling in Europe.

Why this causes confusion

In many European countries, when you go to see a doctor or any form of medical specialist, you will normally be expected to pay them at the end of your consultation.
You will then be able to reclaim the cost partly from the state and partly from your own insurance policy. This, of course, is a huge surprise to many British visitors, who are entirely unfamiliar with the concept of a doctor holding their hand out for payment at the end of a consultation!

In those circumstances, brandishing the card won’t necessarily mean that you avoid having to hand over cash at the time. It does mean that you should be able to subsequently claim reimbursement for it, providing that you have a receipt from the medical facility concerned for the money you have paid for your treatment.

Another problem area is occasionally that the distinctions between private and public treatment in many European countries is not quite as clear as it is in the UK. In some European countries you can choose to go to either a state facility (or doctor) or those that are ‘private’. The distinction is well known to local people but is less clear to foreign visitors.

Conclusion

The EHIC card is a fantastic facility, however it is not a substitute for full travel insurance nor does it necessarily provide full health cover when visiting overseas. Your EHIC card can also only be used within the context of the health provision systems of the country you are travelling to. It would be sensible to research the specifics of those and how to use the card within them, prior to your departure.