French hospital bill almost 3 years later

Confusedpatient

This is a long one and a new account, sorry.

In 2017 I was in France on holiday, and went into anaphylaxis (no previous allergies) out on the street. An ambulance was called (they administered oxygen and epipen injection), took me to hospital, where I was treated (two IV drips and oxygen and observation, essentially) and kept in for 8 hours and then released. I tried to give them my E111 card and travel insurance details upon release, but they waived me away. No one at the hospital spoke English, and my French is extremely limited. They sent me a bill a few months later for 984 Euros, but asked for a photocopy of my carte vitale to waive/reduce the bill. I sent them my E111 and travel insurance details promptly and heard nothing back. Now 2.5 years later, they have sent me another bill for the same 984 Euro amount, and no mention of a carte vitale included. There is no mention of a reduced amount, so is this 984 Euro what I actually owe and they have just assumed I did have an E111 card and billed me accordingly (I understand the E111 does not provide free treatment, just the same cost as a national)?

Is this something I'm supposed to pay outright myself? I thought we had some kind of reciprocal agreement via the NHS? I don't still have my travel insurance details for that trip anymore, and it's been so long I'm sure they wouldn't pay out! For what it's worth, we're corresponding via my work address (I moved around a lot back then), and I've checked my credit report, and there's nothing untwoard on there about unpaid bills or such. I'm not sure what the consequences would be of not paying? I've also been back to the country since in 2018 with no problems at immigration. 

Dr_Crypto

My understanding is that the EHIC entitles you to the same treatment as a local so if a local would have been billed for some of the care so would you be. I don’t know enough about the French system but as I understand it it is not uncommon for people to pay something then reclaim from insurance. 

Maybe just send the bill to your insurer with a letter and ask them to sort it out? I doubt the hospital will chase you in the UK and they certainly won’t be able to mark your credit history. 

Confusedpatient

I go through a lot of travel insurance for work and have had a busy few years moving house frequently and having a baby, I don't recall who I was insured with that time

Dr_Crypto

Guess you’ll have to forget it. I can’t see any way the hospital will
bother to  recover it in the UK although if you ever needed treatment at that hospital it might be a bit awkward. 

A friend of mine had a similar thing with an Italian hospital for €25. He did actually send them a cheque (from his UK Sterling account) but I don’t know if they bothered banking it or not. 

[Deleted User]

I feel you should pay in full. You did receive treatment. Then try harder to remember who you were insured with. Also, follow up on ehic entitlement. Regards

Nebulous2

The world has changed recently and people in this country are being chased much more closely for NHS treatment than before. It wouldn’t be a surprise if other countries are reciprocating. EHIC is still valid however, and we have seen some reports about charges being applied wrongly as if it was no longer in use. I’m fairly sure some of those reports were from France. 

You need to do your research and find out what a French resident would be charged in the same situation. A low cost option might be getting somebody fluent in French to write to them and ask. Point out you already supplied an EHIC when you were previously asked. 

colsten

Why do you go on about E111? It was phased out well over 10 years ago and replaced with the EHIC card. The French hospital staff probably don't know what to do with an obsolete E111. Whilst you probably aren't in a position to show them a (then) valid EHIC card, you could try finding a French speaking person who would write a letter for you, stating that as a British citizen you are/were covered under the EHIC scheme and they should recover their costs from the NHS.

Terry_Towelling

What has this got to do with budgeting and bank accounts?

onwards&upwards

Confusedpatient said:

I go through a lot of travel insurance for work and have had a busy few years moving house frequently and having a baby, I don't recall who I was insured with that time

You surely wouldn’t have deleted the emails though, so a keyword search within the right date range should find it for you.

Dr_Crypto

colsten said:

Why do you go on about E111? It was phased out well over 10 years ago and replaced with the EHIC card. The French hospital staff probably don't know what to do with an obsolete E111. Whilst you probably aren't in a position to show them a (then) valid EHIC card, you could try finding a French speaking person who would write a letter for you, stating that as a British citizen you are/were covered under the EHIC scheme and they should recover their costs from the NHS.

I may be wrong here but I understood an EHIC entitled you to the same level of treatment as a local. Therefore if a French person would have had to pay and then reclaim this money than a Brit would have to pay and then reclaim from travel insurance. That said it’s not an area im
massively familiar with so could be wrong. 

Nebulous2

Dr_Crypto said:

colsten said:

Why do you go on about E111? It was phased out well over 10 years ago and replaced with the EHIC card. The French hospital staff probably don't know what to do with an obsolete E111. Whilst you probably aren't in a position to show them a (then) valid EHIC card, you could try finding a French speaking person who would write a letter for you, stating that as a British citizen you are/were covered under the EHIC scheme and they should recover their costs from the NHS.

I may be wrong here but I understood an EHIC entitled you to the same level of treatment as a local. Therefore if a French person would have had to pay and then reclaim this money than a Brit would have to pay and then reclaim from travel insurance. That said it’s not an area im
massively familiar with so could be wrong. 

That’s right, but it is an opt in system, you need to apply before you go and have the card to show. 

The OP is using a term relating to the previous system which had finished before the time of their claim. Either they do have an EHIC and are simply calling it by the wrong name, or they have an old card which wouldn’t do them any good.