EHIC - have you made a small claim on it? Is it worth it?

[Phineyj]

I needed to take DC to see a doctor during a recent holiday in France. Paid EUR 25 in cash and received a completed 'Feuille de soins'. However, I can't for the life of me work out how you go about seeking a reimbursement -- I did find one form but it was very long and complicated and only seemed to cover treatment carried out before 2021 (EU Directive Route). I have contacted the NHS Business Services Authority and asked them but just wondered if anyone else has pursued an EHIC claim successfully.

The EHIC only covers you for things that a local would get for free. Locals will pay for a doctor's appointment, therefore your cannot claim for one on your EHIC, as far as I know.

OK, thanks - not sure why the doctor gave me the form then. Maybe it was for travel insurance.

What a useless piece of plastic it is then!

It's an invaluable piece of plastic; I had an operation that without the ehic card would have left me with a bill of €17,000. I didn't have to pay for anything other than food in hospital. The bill was paid under the reciprocal agreement between eu countries and uk. I wouldn't travel without it.

Can we still use them? Best get mine renewed!

It's now called a GHIC and yes still as useful and comes about ten days after applying

Well I'm glad it worked out for you anyway, @twistandscream. I do think there should be some information somewhere about what you can and can't so with it though - I spent about an hour trying to find info today and you guys have been way more helpful!

Can't do

It’s not a form of insurance. It allows you to access essential healthcare in the country you visit, some of which may be chargeable.

The paperwork they gave you is to reclaim what you have paid via your travel insurance.

Also be warned that some insurance companies will turn down claims in countries that accept the GHIC in if you don’t have one. Their argument is you could have accessed the healthcare for free so why should they pay out just because you weren’t organised enough to get a card? Happened to a relative a while ago when it was still EHIC.

I've used one a couple of times in Germany to take DC to see a doctor, and there it was great. It made the appointment free and I also got all the prescriptions issued for free, including ibuprofen. Obviously it varies by country, depending on what the locals have to pay to access healthcare.

As pps have said, it allows you to access emergency health care at the same cost as locals, so it depends on the set up in each country. Your EUR 25 consultation could well have been much more expensive without it. And yes, many insurance companies require you to UST the GHIC/EHIC card when possible. If you got admitted to hospital and your stay would have been free with the card, but you chose not to use it, (or didn't bother to carry it) they won't cover you.

There is some country by country information on EU's website, but I agree, it would be useful to have something like the old ehic app where it was easy to look up what was covered on a country by country basis

I claimed back course of antibiotics for my child.

I used the old EHIC back in 2019

i was taken to hospital by ambulance and put on drip then left.

the hospital sent invoice for €80 and I sent Ehic, they then sent bill at same price locals would have paid, which was €20 and I sent cash in post. All sorted

didnt claim on insurance as excess was £150

Pre Brexit I claimed healthcare costs through the DWP, I'd guess it's not valid now Post Brexit but the phone number was +441912181999 if you want to see if the number is still active.

Yes, check with your insurance about expectation of using GHIC/EHIC

The (Post Office) policy I had just before the pandemic covered you with of without the card, but had a non-EHIC excess, but costs that had been incurred/reduced in line with EHIC provision would be paid in full

In some countries (like Italy but maybe others) the rules change from region to region too which would make it difficult I guess.

A French person with no top-up insurance would be refunded just under 17€ so you should be able to claim some of the 25€ back but I have no idea how.

EHIC has been replaced by GHIC which works in the same way and in the same places (EU plus Norway and Switzerland)

The phone number is the same

I had no idea that EHIC cards had been replaced with GHIC, I thought that was a loss of benefit from Brexit.
I've just applied for one.

So thank you for this thread, even of it wasn't your point.

I have so far been unable to discover what the process is to even try to claim the €25 via EHIC and it's almost surely too small an amount to be worth claiming on travel insurance. The owner of the holiday cottage believed that previous guests had been reimbursed via EHIC. The doctor didn't speak either English or French well (she was Bulgarian) so ensuring I'd understood her advice was my main focus, not the paperwork.

It is a useful thread though and my Googling suggests NHS Business Services are now pretending EHIC doesn't exist, but ours are valid till 2023!

It's clearly not enough to just have your valid EHIC/get the GHIC, you need to know what to do to use it (I did read all the advice I could find but still can't see what you're supposed to DO!)

I don't think you're supposed to do anything! I'd always understood that the card insures you are treated like a local - so you pay whatever a local pays or doesn't pay. There is nothing to claim back.

Actually looking here, it seems France is different as you can be asked to pay upfront and claim a refund. But you won't get anything if the 25 euros was the same price that locals pay.
ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1021&langId=en&intPageId=1737

Yes it's important to remember that same as local, can easily mean there is a charge. It doesn't mean free I depends on each country's ways

Timely thread for us. My Dh was recently treated in France for an infection. Paid €25 for initial doctor consultation but ended up in equivalent to A and E. We were presented with a bill for €160 plus antibiotics, dressings and other meds came to over €120. We showed them our GHIC card but no-one seemed to know what this was or what to do with it. We could claim on travel insurance but that has an excess of £100 and may then put premiums up for the future.

Would love to know how it works!

Do you have a receipt for the amount paid? If not, I would give up now. You could call the helpline but it will probably cost you more in the end.www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/contact-us/overseas-healthcare-services-contact-us

...and just to add, it was very easy to access a doctor quickly in France so grateful for that. Queues in A and E not as bad as here either.