Navigating the issue of private vs public eu hospitals

The relationship between cheap holiday coverage insurance, the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) and public/private hospitals in the EU, sometimes causes confusion. Here is a brief attempt to cut through some of the fog, but do remember that the specifics of the situation can change rapidly and also may vary depending upon your destination European Union country.

The EHIC

This is freely available from the NHS and in theory it entitles you, as the citizen of a European Union member state, to get the same emergency treatment free of charge in another European country as local citizens of that country themselves would be entitled to. This is a great system but it should be remembered that it doesn’t necessarily replace cheap holiday coverage insurance, as the latter covers many eventualities and not just health problems.

The public versus private confusion abroad

Unfortunately, there have been cases where British travellers abroad have gone to a hospital or clinic for medical treatment only to find, to their surprise and horror, that the hospital subsequently refused to accept the EHIC and demanded cash payment instead - or the provision of a valid medical insurance travel policy. This difficulty arises from the fact that in some countries, hospitals and medical clinics can be categorised as either public or private. For the local citizens of that country, the free treatment they are entitled to at one or the other may be different. In some cases, in order to obtain treatment at a privately-owned hospital, they may need to show not only that they are covered by their own state scheme but also that they have ancillary top-up insurance of one form or another. This is quite different to the United Kingdom where, typically, emergency medical treatment will be provided under the auspices of the NHS rather than private medicine.

What this means for tourists and other visitors

In the event you or one of your family is taken ill abroad and needs medical attention, you might not be in the position of being able to suddenly undertake a crash course in the medical health insurance procedures of the country you are in. In fact, if you do not speak the local language and nobody is around to translate when you need assistance, you may not be particularly well positioned to even start asking in-depth questions about the exact legal and financial status of the institution that is offering to provide you with treatment. The risk is, therefore that, in some countries and in some circumstances, you may find yourself running up very high medical bills in circumstances where your EHIC is not sufficient.

What you can do about the situation

At the time of writing, various European institutions are talking to each other about this acknowledged discrepancy and often-expensive misunderstanding. However, while the politicians’ debates continue, so does the scope for potential confusion when you are in a European Union country and need medical assistance. That is why it would be prudent to do some research on the exact position of the country you are planning to visit; make sure that you have cheap holiday coverage insurance in place that provides appropriate financial protection, along with advice and guidance, in the country you are visiting, should you need it in an emergency.

Patrick Chong is the Managing Director of Insuremore. We provide cheap holiday coverage with a range of policies including single-trip, multi-trip and family insurance. For all your travel cover needs, Insuremore can help you in the quickest and most cost-efficient way.