How does GHIC, the EHIC replacement EU travel insurance card, work?

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• jjoohhnn says:

  1 Aug1 August 09:37

  So if you are a UK citizen and still have a valid EHIC, does that still work in Lichtenstein, Iceland and Norway or has its coverage decreased to match the GHIC?

  Seems to be discriminatory to offer free healthcare selectively based on when you applied for your EHIC.

  • abc says:

    1 Aug1 August 12:15

    No it isn’t valid any more. All EHIC’s issued before the end of the transition period automatically became GHICs at that date.
    (This also applies to those of EU citizens that are eligible to get a ‘new EHIC’, they have to request it.)

• Dave says:

  1 Aug1 August 10:03

  My son was hospitalised for 6 days in Italy last week. The hospital refused to acknowledge his GHIC/EHIC card and demanded full payment of several thousand euros for his care before he was discharged. They claimed not to have a relationship with his travel insurance company either, which turned out not to be true. Trying to get him out and back home was a nightmare, it almost felt like a hostage situation! We were eventually advised by the insurer to settle the bill and assured us they would reimburse. Thankfully we were in a position to do that, which earned a few Avios, but still… (He’s back home and fine now).

  • Londonsteve says:

    1 Aug1 August 10:32

    Sorry to read about your experience. Were you given a plausible explanation why the EHIC/GHIC wouldn’t cover the treatment? This experience could be deeply concerning for someone that doesn’t have a large credit limit at their disposal.

    • Dave says:

      1 Aug1 August 11:14

      It was hard getting a plausible explanation of anything the whole time, due to the language barrier. It was only at the point of discharge that a glamourous woman appeared out of nowhere, speaking perfect English, with the invoice. “We don’t take those” was her line regarding GHIC card.

      By that point my wife (having flown over to sort things out, as he was there with his girlfriend – first holiday together) just wanted to get everyone out of there and on a flight home. As you say what would have happened if we couldn’t make that payment is anyone’s guess. To be fair the insurance company were great all along, but they were having trouble getting any acknowledgement from the hospital that my son was even in there from day one. I suspect the hospital accounts dept would rather get the cash up front, rather than go through what I would imagine is a lot a red tape to get their payment via GHIC. The cynic in me says this was standard practice at a point where overseas patients will have their guard down as they just to get out of there and back home.

      It was a nightmare for obvious reasons, made no easier by the uncertainty around insurances. But he’s back and on the mend. Barring some admin with the insurance company, we should be golden. Interestingly there was cover for my wife having to fly over to assist too, which was unexpected.

  • RussellH says:

    1 Aug1 August 10:37

    It can work the other way round too.

    Last year I found myself helping a client who had had to go to A+E in the Tirol (in summer). He had left his GHIC at home, so ended up receiving two bills for ambulance transfers and one for treatment. They all turned up a couple of months after he got home.
    The ambulance service was quite clear that they would cancel the bill on sight of a photocopy of the GHIC, but my colleague who initially dealt with the case found his e-mails in English blocked by the hospital server when trying to find out if the hospital would accept a GHIC.
    I offered to take over the case as I speak German.
    The Austrian Government website stated that it was highly unlikely that the hospital would accept a GHIC, as it was run by a religious order of nuns. But in fact, when I finally spoke to someone in their accounts dept she assured me that all she needed was a photocopy of the GHIC. After finally getting the photocopy past the hospital’s spam filters, that bill was cancelled too.

  • Gavin says:

    1 Aug1 August 11:47

    Was it a private hospital? I believe the GHIC/EHIC is only valid in government/state healthcare hospitals. Some holidaymakers eg skiers need to be aware of this, as for example, almost all medical clinics in ski resorts are privately run.

    • TimM says:

      1 Aug1 August 13:17

      My thoughts exactly. Private hospitals pay ‘rent’ for a patch such that foreign tourists are automatically whisked away to the relevant hospital.

      One of my tenants was the ‘meeter and greeter’ for German tourists brought to the private hospital she worked for. She explained that her main role was to obtain the travel insurance details, whatever that took, and failing that a signature to agree to pay the (potentially catastrophic) fees. She explained that there was a department of the hospital solely to liaise directly with the insurers to establish just how much they will pay before treatment is started.

      Foreign tourists drive a huge industry in private hospitals the World over.

    • Dave says:

      1 Aug1 August 14:05

      Good point – I honestly don’t know, but that may explain it.

  • Lady London says:

    1 Aug1 August 19:39

    Yes it’s amazing in Italy how often credit card machines for other services, hotels etc, don’t work and they want cash.

• Charlotte Keywood says:

  1 Aug1 August 10:15

  I used the GHIC card in Lanzarote this year. I had forgotten to bring my medication and made a trip to the local clinic to get a prescription. After a minor bit of confusion, I was seen by a doctor, given a prescription which I got straight away from the pharmacy, all for the princely sum of Euro 1.84. Far better service than the NHS at a tenth of the price.

• SammyJ says:

  1 Aug1 August 10:25

  One big benefit of EHIC/GHIC that’s seldom mentioned is that local NHS equivalents are far less picky than insurance companies about what they’ll treat you for: a bump on the head after a few too many daiquiris, falling off a wall/balcony, quad bike accident, or a vague pre-existing condition you failed to disclose – all things you shouldn’t do, but if they do happen, at least you *should* get free emergency treatment for them.
  My 18yr old went on his first lads holiday this year and I made sure every one of them had a GHIC as well as insurance, because the chances of any medical incident not having an insurance exclusion attached were slim-to-nil! Fortunately, all returned home intact!

  • Londonsteve says:

    1 Aug1 August 10:34

    That’s a very good point. Nobody should travel to the EU without one.

  • 4chAnon says:

    3 Aug3 August 00:00

    Worth saying that actually most insurance providers require you to take advantage of any reciprocal healthcare agreements.

• James says:

  1 Aug1 August 11:10

  Any other horror or success stories of actually using this abroad in the unfortunate circumstance of being hospitalised?

  • ADS says:

    1 Aug1 August 11:29

    many years ago i broke a thumb skiing in Austria … and the local GP didn’t accept my EHIC … so i had to claim back the 100 euro GP cost from my travel insurance

  • JDB says:

    1 Aug1 August 12:08

    In France you are treated in the same way as a French citizen who has the choice of attending a public or private hospital for most things. A private hospital (many of which have A&E) is more likely to want to be paid on the spot even for an overnight or day bed, an element they reclaim from the NHS and then refund after they are paid – maybe eight weeks. Some public hospitals also want immediate payment for treatment (but maybe not stay) although may not have that facility at the weekend so bill you later. GP visits always require payment. The EHIC/GHIC gets you treated but doesn’t actually cover payment.

• Andrea Lange says:

  1 Aug1 August 11:52

  If a British citizen is married to a citizen belonging to a country of the EU (who continues to be covered under the EHIC scheme), they can continue to be covered under the EHIC scheme (if their spouse applies on their behalf). My Scottish husband just got his new EHIC card.

• Stephen W says:

  1 Aug1 August 11:55

  Got my first GHIC card this week. Looks like a BNP membership card. I’ll be sure to store it back-to-front in my wallet.

  • His Holyness says:

    1 Aug1 August 12:58

    It’s the Union Jack.

    • RussellH says:

      1 Aug1 August 17:25

      No, it is the Union Flag. A jack is flown from the bow of a ship.

      And yes, it does indeed look like a BNP membership card.

      • Iain says:

        2 Aug2 August 11:41

        Especially on a site dedicated to flying with British Airways! They must close their eyes getting on and off.

• His Holyness says:

  1 Aug1 August 13:06

  They did well to continue EHIC in this form and I’m sure its called “Global” as they intend to expand it to other countries.
  Do CEFTA countries have their own form of GHIC for when their citizens travel to the EU and vv? A number of CEFTA are on the list of non-EU partners, with or without a GHIC.

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