France and Travel Insurance.

The EHIC Card DOES NOT cover everything!!
All we are trying to say is that surely for £2 a week it is worth being safe. And yes our EHIC card is and was valid but like I said before it DOES NOT cover everything.
PJ
 
This appears to define the situation, quoted from gov.uk:

Hospitals
Make sure you present your EHIC if you are admitted to hospital. This will ensure you only pay the patient contribution.

If you are admitted to a private hospital or clinic, check if it is also registered to provide state healthcare.

Generally, you will only have to pay a 20% co-payment towards your treatment. Sometimes it will be free. Inpatients will have to pay a daily hospital charge of €20.

If you are admitted to hospital and receive any major medical treatment, you will need to pay the daily hospital charge.

This is a flat-rate contribution of €20, in addition to the 20% co-payment.

Find out about treatment costs and reimbursement rates in advance if possible.

Some facilities apply a surcharge (dépassement d’honoraires) that is not covered by the French healthcare system.

A few clinics are ‘non conventionnées’, meaning that their rates are not government regulated.
 
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The EHIC does cover same as residents would have to pay, so I suppose that is why it differs in each country. When Dave had his accident in Portugal the EHIC covered the admission but my travel insurance covered the taxis back to the hospital for checkups and also my costs getting back on the day of the accident, payment for inpatient stay , and it would have paid costs for extended holiday (tunnel extras etc) if we had needed it. I keep a digital copy of the document on my phone so it is always with me. Peace of mind for a small price overall.
 
Just got home after my wife was hospitalised in Spain for 8 days on 8 Oct 2019. No bills for hospitalisation at the time, but who knows what will arrive in the post. They know where we live!

We were actually on the ferry but the departure was delayed and she was evacuated (blues & two) before we left Bilbao.

Claimed around £2k for expenses from travel insurance. 8 days in hospital then 5 days in hotel waiting for insurance company to declare her fit to travel.
No spaces on any Spain/UK ferries until mid November so returned via the Tunnel, still sorting out the extra 800 miles with the insurance company. An hour into our journey a Spanish HGV ran into the back of us and wrote off the trailer and motorbike. 5 hours delay before recovery turned up

When we returned to UK an illegal immigrant jumped out of a lorry about 20 vehicles ahead of us on the M20, Police closed the motorway and we just sat there for hours.

You couldn't make it up!
 
jacquigem said:
We had a friend who broke her hip in a fall. We made sure that she was taken to a non private hospital. There they asked her if she had insurance , to which she said yes so they transfered her , broken hip and all to nearby private hospital . When the paperwork came through cover had expired so she was transferred back to original hospital where they fixed her hip on the EHIC. My take is never admit to insurance (unless you are sure you are covered) and make sure you go non private which in Spain is very good . Yes repatriation is not covered but we have enough in the bank for a cremation and someone will come and collect the ashes !
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If you need cremating who would have access to your bank account to pay for it? Have you thought how traumatic that would be to whoever on top of having to drop everything and fetch you in a box?
 
Markd said:
Does anyone know whether EHIC is included in the Boris deal?
If not travel insurance will be essential - maybe more expensive?
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EHIC is not administered by the EU. However, in order to qualify for it a state must accept freedom of movement. So, if the eventual deal involves leaving the single market we will not qualify for EHIC. It will then be up to individual states to decide whether or not they wish to do separate deals with us. Some - such as Spain - have expressed a willingness to do so but, at the latest count, they were linking it to conditions about freedom of movement with Gibraltar, so the outcome of that is by no means certain.

We are currently in Spain and have spent many winters here without travel insurance (which rarely covers you for more than 3 months anyway). We have had to use the Spanish health service on a number of occasions - all on EHIC and all for free. Neither of us is bothered about repatriation - if we are still alive then the Spanish health service is superb; if we are dead, it doesn't matter anyway.
 
Many years ago in France I waited several days to have my broken arm reset whilst evidence of insurance was produced. The insurance also covered my repatriation by ambulance and air. However much I pay in travel insurance costs will still be less than the total cost of that one claim.
 
The Boris deal included the EHIC, but beyond 2020 there would need to be another deal.
 
colinmd said:
The Boris deal included the EHIC, but beyond 2020 there would need to be another deal.
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Really ! I was under the impression everything stayed the same until 2020 ?
So Boris has negotiated a reciprocal
( temporary) health deal in this current deal ?
Do you have details of this ? Might save me a small fortune in insurance
 
r4dent said:
Just got home after my wife was hospitalised in Spain for 8 days on 8 Oct 2019. No bills for hospitalisation at the time, but who knows what will arrive in the post. They know where we live!

We were actually on the ferry but the departure was delayed and she was evacuated (blues & two) before we left Bilbao.

Claimed around £2k for expenses from travel insurance. 8 days in hospital then 5 days in hotel waiting for insurance company to declare her fit to travel.
No spaces on any Spain/UK ferries until mid November so returned via the Tunnel, still sorting out the extra 800 miles with the insurance company. An hour into our journey a Spanish HGV ran into the back of us and wrote off the trailer and motorbike. 5 hours delay before recovery turned up

When we returned to UK an illegal immigrant jumped out of a lorry about 20 vehicles ahead of us on the M20, Police closed the motorway and we just sat there for hours.

You couldn't make it up!
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Quite an adventure .
 
colinmd said:
The Boris deal included the EHIC, but beyond 2020 there would need to be another deal.
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There I was thinking we could "Get Brexit Done!!" If only those pesky MPs would just have done as he told them😀
At least he didn't negotiate away that from May's deal - but everything will have to be checked - but we needn't worry about checks as they won't be needed across the Irish sea either 😀
Can't wait till the real negotiations start - I wonder whether I'll still be alive by the time they finish!
Might as well be in Europe without EHIC as in UK after Trump has levered his Pharma friends into NHS?
 
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EHIC provides the same cover as locals get, which is not always the same as we receive in UK. It is easy to think you don't need to be extra insurance. Most situations will be covered, but some aren't such as repatriation. We know this from past experience in Germany when emergency treatment was provided without question but there would have been a charge for follow on treatment and repatriation if we hadn't got private insurance. A twelve month policy is usually better value if you go more than once a year.
 
colinmd said:
The Boris deal included the EHIC, but beyond 2020 there would need to be another deal.
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No it didn't - for the simple reason that EHIC is not administered by the EU and therefore cannot figure in any deal. It is, however, a condition of being a member of EHIC that you have to agree to freedom of movement - and Boris doesn't want that!
 
pamjon said:
Hi, Thank you for your replies.
Firstly, I really don't know if It was a private hospital or not however, I doubt it as I was sent there by another hospital which didn't have a doctor who could perform the broncoscopy and they were in contact with the hospital in Poitiers all the time about my condition. I had produced the EHIC card at the first hospital and the travel insurance details. Poitiers needed to see it too to verify. I was told by the paramedics who took me there that it would be very expensive for me if I couldn't produce it. To be fair if I had to pay I had to pay. On ringing Saga when we got home they also asked if I had produced the EHIC card and because I had they paid me back the 100 euros for the prescription I had to pay for at the chemist when I left the hospital and also compensation for the 6 nights I spent in hospital (loss of holiday).
I must say that at the first hospital my husband asked if he could stay the night in the motor home on their car park which they said yes and also offered to feed him as he had not eaten anything all day as he had sat in the waiting room all day and not moved. He declined but was grateful for the offer.
As a foot note one of the meals I had in hospital was lovely steak.
I saw my doctor the other day and he seemed astounded that I had had all the relevant tests there already and that it would not have happened like that on the NHS.
Thank you all yes, I believe I am doing well and now I just have to wait for another CT scan in another 2 months.
Thanks pj
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best of luck hope your doing well ,ok pj
 
John H said:
No it didn't - for the simple reason that EHIC is not administered by the EU and therefore cannot figure in any deal. It is, however, a condition of being a member of EHIC that you have to agree to freedom of movement - and Boris doesn't want that!
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and i dont want the rats, ok pj
 
John H said:
No it didn't - for the simple reason that EHIC is not administered by the EU and therefore cannot figure in any deal. It is, however, a condition of being a member of EHIC that you have to agree to freedom of movement - and Boris doesn't want that!
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well you know more than all those who reported on the details, including the bbc
 
My wife was taken ill on board the Ferry in Bilbao just before it sailed to the UK. We were evacuated by ambulance but the motorhome remained on board.
She spend 8 days in Hospital and then a further 5 days in a Hotel before the Insurance company regarded her as fit to travel. The hospital asked for the EHIC which we produced. So far we have not received any bill for medical treatment. The bill for Hotels and food, however, was over £2k. Plus, of course, repatriation costs.

I'm a believer in insurance. If you don't insure you are taking a high value gamble and don't expect me to help if you lose.
 
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