How to claim back in the UK a dental emergency treatment occurred while in France

Boesewicht

Hello,
I am just coming back from France where I had to go to the dentist for treatment concerning loss of part of a filling and consolidating a chipped tooth. I had to pay 50€, I have all the documentation (feuille de soins, bill and proof of pay) and would now like to reclaim part of this (or whole) with the NHS.

I had an extensive look on the web and at the NHS website and could not really find anything helpful; and when I found something it was all outdated and pre-Brexit stuff with forms dated as old as 2013...
I am French but resident in the UK with settled status and thus still "enjoy" the benefits of a EHIC card, although it does not really help for dental treatment as one has to pay everything upfront at the dentist.

Has anybody in this forum experienced a similar situation and could give me some advice how to proceed?
I am also wondering whether it is worth all the trouble, has anybody an idea of how much (if ever) I might get reimbursed?

Thank you in advance for your help.

Penguin_

Isn't there a charge for fillings & the like even if you have an NHS dentist? I'm sure it's around £60 something from memory, so am unsure you could claim it back?

Bicycleman22

EHIC   GHIC gives you treatment at the same level as a local person. Would a Frenchman / woman get this treatment for less than you paid 

Sandtree

Assuming you followed the EHIC process and presented your card then you claim from the local CPAM or CGSS in France not the UK NHS. As you haven't followed the process properly the NHS wont step in and do it for you... they only look at cases where you have gone through the correct process and feel the end result isn't in line with what it should have been.

EHIC was never intended to give you free health care but to entitle you to the same treatment at the same cost as a local. Not all treatments are free.

jon81uk

See the bottom of this page Applying for healthcare cover abroad (GHIC and EHIC) - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

They'll look at your claim to decide whether you were charged when you should have been covered. If they determine that your treatment should have been covered by the UK GHIC, new UK EHIC or existing EHIC, they’ll reimburse you or your insurer for the costs of treatment which are covered by your card. This may not include the full cost of treatment.

You can contact NHS Overseas Healthcare Services.

That is assuming that you wouldn't have paid for that treatment as a french person.

In the UK NHS emergency dental treatment is £23.

Boesewicht

Penguin_ said:

Isn't there a charge for fillings & the like even if you have an NHS dentist? I'm sure it's around £60 something from memory, so am unsure you could claim it back?

  - Thanks for your reply. Yes, you're right. I had a look on the NHS website, it would cost 65.20£ for a full filling. But what has been done to my tooth was more like a temporary filling, the dentist told me to have it checked on my return for a complete rework. What they did would fall into band 1: 23.80£

Boesewicht

Bicycleman22 said:

EHIC   GHIC gives you treatment at the same level as a local person. Would a Frenchman / woman get this treatment for less than you paid 

  I think I paid more than if I had had a "carte vitale" and been in the system. But not sure.

Undervalued

Boesewicht said:

Penguin_ said:

Isn't there a charge for fillings & the like even if you have an NHS dentist? I'm sure it's around £60 something from memory, so am unsure you could claim it back?

  - Thanks for your reply. Yes, you're right. I had a look on the NHS website, it would cost 65.20£ for a full filling. But what has been done to my tooth was more like a temporary filling, the dentist told me to have it checked on my return for a complete rework. What they did would fall into band 1: 23.80£

I am not sure a temporary filling is band 1? I believe there is also a emergency one off treatment band on the NHS which isn't part of the band 1, 2 or 3 for a "course" of treatment. One of the dentist who sometime post on the health and beauty section of this forum would know.

However, so what you are talking about is the difference between £23.80 and 50 euros (c. £42) so £19 max and maybe less. Is it worth the effort?

jon81uk

Undervalued said:

Boesewicht said:

Penguin_ said:

Isn't there a charge for fillings & the like even if you have an NHS dentist? I'm sure it's around £60 something from memory, so am unsure you could claim it back?

  - Thanks for your reply. Yes, you're right. I had a look on the NHS website, it would cost 65.20£ for a full filling. But what has been done to my tooth was more like a temporary filling, the dentist told me to have it checked on my return for a complete rework. What they did would fall into band 1: 23.80£

I am not sure a temporary filling is band 1? I believe there is also a emergency one off treatment band on the NHS which isn't part of the band 1, 2 or 3 for a "course" of treatment. One of the dentist who sometime post on the health and beauty section of this forum would know.

However, so what you are talking about is the difference between £23.80 and 50 euros (c. £42). Is it worth the effort?

A temprary filling is classed as an emergency and charged as such, the emergency fee on the NHS is the same as bank one at £23.80.

Although not sure that is relevant as they would be claiming the costs compared to what you would be expected to pay in France I think.

Its not clear anywhere how GHIC/EHIC works other than show the card at the point of treatment.
But as I posted above if the OP thinks they were charged in error they need to contact NHS Overseas Healthcare Services.

Sandtree

jon81uk said:

Undervalued said:

Boesewicht said:

Penguin_ said:

Isn't there a charge for fillings & the like even if you have an NHS dentist? I'm sure it's around £60 something from memory, so am unsure you could claim it back?

  - Thanks for your reply. Yes, you're right. I had a look on the NHS website, it would cost 65.20£ for a full filling. But what has been done to my tooth was more like a temporary filling, the dentist told me to have it checked on my return for a complete rework. What they did would fall into band 1: 23.80£

I am not sure a temporary filling is band 1? I believe there is also a emergency one off treatment band on the NHS which isn't part of the band 1, 2 or 3 for a "course" of treatment. One of the dentist who sometime post on the health and beauty section of this forum would know.

However, so what you are talking about is the difference between £23.80 and 50 euros (c. £42). Is it worth the effort?

A temprary filling is classed as an emergency and charged as such, the emergency fee on the NHS is the same as bank one at £23.80.

Although not sure that is relevant as they would be claiming the costs compared to what you would be expected to pay in France I think.

Its not clear anywhere how GHIC/EHIC works other than show the card at the point of treatment.
But as I posted above if the OP thinks they were charged in error they need to contact NHS Overseas Healthcare Services.

There are plenty of resources online that tell you how the cards work as they are specific to each country. Like locals in many places you pay for the treatment up front and reclaim it from the local area council or equiv


https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1021&langId=en&intPageId=1737

As long as you went to a state affiliated dentist then you claim back 70% of the cost less €1

Doshwaster

Personally, for €50 (minus any deductions), I wouldn't bother. Just be grateful that it didn't cost more.