Pre existing health condition & France/Spain

[wakeechee]

I am not very well and have a long list of pre existing conditions. Now any insurance policy i take out will exclude them and I have health insurance with my Santander bank account................

Now on December 1st if my current leg problems are under control want to set off for 2 to 3 months but my health is something I have no control over...

My doctors happy to give me 3 months medicines but I am worried what happens if I need medical heath attention aboard.

As I feel at the moment scared to go as off to docs this morning as still get the leg cramps.......

Most of my symptoms I know how to control but this new cramping is unknown to me

I have been waiting for a chance like this for years.

Help and advice please.......

 

[lebesset]

presuming you will take your EHIC you will have no big problems

in france if you go to the doctor he will put out his hand for €22 , but the state will reimburse 70% if you apply to the insurance office , same for prescriptions ; if you have a real emergency , straight to the emergency department and if they admit you there is no charge except for your food while you are in hospital

in spain , you go to the state clinic and get free treatment ...emergencies free at the hospital

portugal is a little more complex because , except in an emergency , any tests the doctor at the state clinic orders you have to go round to the private company with the prescription and get it done [ the clinic will tell you where to go ] ; last winter the clinic order a complete blood work up [ cost me €1.70 ] and a kidney ultrasound scan [ cost € 2.20 ] , I had to pay an administration charge at the clinic as well , I think it was €1.0 !

for me the only reason for private insurance is if you have to have repatriation ...me , I'm retired , I am more than happy to stay where I find myself if I can't travel normally ....and if it turns out to be a permanent stay , won't make any difference to me , they have crematoria wherever you go

 

[vindiboy]

We have used the Spanish Hospitals twice, once when my wife suffered severe stomach pains, turned out to be Gall Stones [removed back in England ] and once when I had a fall and dislocated my shoulder, after a lot of pulling and tugging the Hospital staff put it back in again, I have heard of others having operations for Cancer problems there too, I could not fault the service and care we received ,all on the E111 which we never had to produce, so I would say don't worry go for your trip, you will be in good hands, We don't even take private insurance any more ,I know we will have problems if we needed repatriation etc, but I am sure the care we would receive if needed would be first class.

 

[Deleted member 9237]

We have used the Spanish Hospitals twice, once when my wife suffered severe stomach pains, turned out to be Gall Stones [removed back in England ] and once when I had a fall and dislocated my shoulder, after a lot of pulling and tugging the Hospital staff put it back in again, I have heard of others having operations for Cancer problems there too, I could not fault the service and care we received ,all on the E111 which we never had to produce, so I would say don't worry go for your trip, you will be in good hands, We don't even take private insurance any more ,I know we will have problems if we needed repatriation etc, but I am sure the care we would receive if needed would be first class.

You will have to show your E111 but dont worry they are as good as gold i have had 2 operations here for cancer and only showed my E111 and sign a form and of you go much better than the treatment i had in the UK.

 

[vindiboy]

In case you didn't know your E111 or whatever they call the new plastic jobby CAN expire, good for 5 years I think, simple to renew, just a phone call got mine and my wifes' renewed.

 

[lebesset]

In case you didn't know your E111 or whatever they call the new plastic jobby CAN expire, good for 5 years I think, simple to renew, just a phone call got mine and my wifes' renewed.

EHIC ...see my first post

 

[fofeg101]

There is EHICPLus insurance, which relies on you using your EHIC card and they refund any contribution to the National Health Service of which ever European country you are in, you can't use a private medical facility, but you can use a private ambulance. Importantly, you are covered for repatriation. The premiums are very reasonable, even if you have pre-existing medical conditions.

EHICPlus Travel Insurance: holiday insurance with EHIC, E111; annual travel insurance; travel insurance for over 65

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[polta]

Hi, I think there is a maximum of 60 days per trip for this EHICPlus insurance. No use for us unfortunately as we go away for longer periods!

 

[vindiboy]

Hi, I think there is a maximum of 60 days per trip for this EHICPlus insurance. No use for us unfortunately as we go away for longer periods!

I have just had a quick look at their front page and it's saying cover for trips of up to 4 months, there is sure to be a BUT ,I will search it more later to find out what the BUT is.

 

[Channa]

I am not very well and have a long list of pre existing conditions. Now any insurance policy i take out will exclude them and I have health insurance with my Santander bank account................

.

Most insurances will not cover pre exisiting conditions,irresopective of their nature i;e travel unemployment cover etc.

If you were to try and gain private cover in addition to your Santander cover be careful check the small print.

A lot of insurances not specifically medical have what are called ' non contributory clauses'

In simple terms this means if you have an alternative insurance then the policy wont pay. The problem occurs when you have two insurances that both have non contributory clauses.I.e the same clause in effect you are not insured for that particular 'peril'

Channa

 

[Kontiki]

We never bother with insurance & just use the EHIC card, I also have too many existing medical conditions that make the cost prohibitive. We have been lucky up to now & the worst we had was the wife lost a filling, had it done in Capbreton, think it cost about 40€ but filled in the correct form & was refunded 70% of the cost which was in pounds sterling waiting for us when we got back home.
You can get a booklet or download information from the EHIC site on what you are entitled to as regards treatment in other countries in Europe.

We also have the ADAC breakdown cover, this seems to give us some cover regarding getting us to a hospital in a medical emergency (by helicopter if necessary) it doesn't cover any treatment costs though. You are covered even if you aren't even travelling in your motorhome.

We also have some cover with Nationwide Flex but none of it seems much use to us, to upgrade it for longer periods & cover existing conditions it works out as dear as the other companies.

 

[donkey too]

Hi, I think there is a maximum of 60 days per trip for this EHICPlus insurance. No use for us unfortunately as we go away for longer periods!

My ex wife has used this in Holland for four months came back and renewed and her doctor there told her it was OK for another four months but then had to take out private insurance or apply for dual citizenship. She has applied and been told it will be through in about 8 weeks then all her treatment will be free and she will also be able to claim her disability benefits there as well. She has fibro myalgia (Cant spell).
Her treatment there is far better than she had in UK and she even gets canabis on prescription as a pain reliever.

Meant to say that the only problem she has encountered was from the GP practice here. they would not release her patient records to the Dutch doctor untill she paid. cost her 80 quid in the end. and I though we were in the EEC?

 

[John H]

Like others have said, when we travel in the EU we use only the EHIC card and Jenny has needed to use it in three different countries with no problems (Spain is especially good - if you are planning to get ill anywhere make sure it is Spain!). When travelling outside Europe we use Insure and Go's annual policy - the one we have taken out for 2012 has cost us around £130 for both of us (with a zero excess!) despite the fact that Jenny has declared three pre-existing conditons. I can't speak for other companies but Insure and Go is the one we always use and as long as you tell them of your pre-existing conditions they will cover you (some conditions involve no extra premium; some involve a small extra premium). And you can do it all online with this company.