The European Health Insurance Card – A Concise Introduction
About the European Economic Area
The European Economic Area (EEA) is made up of the 27 European Union (EU) countries, with the addition of Norway, Iceland and Lichtenstein – who are also participants in the EU’s single market.
The EEA is actually pretty vast not just in terms of its size but also its population, which numbers over half a billion people in total. It’s also one of the most culturally and climatically diverse regions of the globe, from sparsely populated Scandinavian areas north of the Arctic Circle right down to the sun baked southern European edges that almost touch Africa.
Photo by Alex E. Proimos / Creative Commons License
Travelling within the EEA
If you’re a national of one of the EEA states, it means that when you travel to another state within the area, you have the right to receive the same public medical attention as a national of that state would receive. In order to be able to ensure this, though, you must first obtain a European health Card (EHIC). The EHIC is free of charge, and you can apply for the card easily online.
When you go travelling within the EEA, it doesn’t always necessarily mean you’ll even be going that far from home. If you’re form the UK, for instance, you’re still pretty much within fewer than 5 hours flight time to most of the area. This means that there’s lots of choice in terms of where to go and what to do when you get there.
Getting medical treatment in the EEA
The UK government’s Foreign & Commonwealth Office points out that despite its name, the EHIC isn’t a substitute for medical insurance. This is because in many EEA countries, nationals are charged towards the cost of treatment, and so EHIC holding visitors will be subject to the same charges. Additionally, the EHIC isn’t equivalent to travel health cover because it doesn’t include medical evacuation or repatriation, both of which – for the uninsured – can be horrendously expensive.
Also, in the case of people who are moving abroad longer term to live as expatriates within another EAA country, the EHIC isn’t designed for expat requirements. So if you’re looking to stay abroad longer term it’s advisable to find out how to register with your destination country’s public healthcare system and also to purchase an international private medical insurance policy.
Jen Jones is a wellbeing blogger writing on subjects including international private medical insurance and workplace health.
Category: Travel Tips
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