GHIC usage advice

krabople

Hi, I'm posting this on behalf of my mum. Any advice from anyone who's had any experience with using their GHIC card, or knows anything about doing so, would be appreciated:


I am a UK resident who goes often to Paris, France.  If I unexpectedly get taken to a hospital for some medical issue & have to receive inpatient treatment, how do I get them to recognise the GHIC card & be sure they'll only bill me for the 25% of the bill that UK citizens are required to pay?

Paying the entire bill may be too expensive & claiming from the DHSS on return to the UK can take a very long time I've heard (even a year or longer) so leaving someone severely out of pocket in the meantime.

Has anyone had any experience of being admitted to a Parisian hospital for treatment & not been automatically billed for the entire amount?  Any info on this issue would be greatly appreciated. Thank you 

Bicycleman22

With a lot of travel insurance these days you are required to use EHIC when you can anyway.....Yes, you may well be asked to pay and get the money back later.

Archergirl

Are you expecting to have to go to hospital, do you have an existing illness? It may make a difference.
If you are in an accident you might not be able to say 'Take me to a public hospital'

rigolith

Didn't it used to cover 100% of the cost with the old EU card?

Pollycat

rigolith said:

Didn't it used to cover 100% of the cost with the old EU card?

I thought it gave the same rights as residents of the country you were travelling in.
So if French people paid £x amount for treatment, that's what a UK citizen would pay.
If treatment was free for a resident, it would be free for a UK citizen.

EDIT:
I was right.
From the GHIC website:

The UK Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) lets you get necessary state healthcare in EU countries, and some other countries, on the same basis as a resident of that country. This may be free or it may require a payment equivalent to that which a local resident would pay.

silvercar

It would be wise to get travel insurance to cover the full cost, that would also include being brought home if necessary.

Pollycat

silvercar said:

It would be wise to get travel insurance to cover the full cost, that would also include being brought home if necessary.

Nobody should rely solely on GHIC:

The UK GHIC is not a replacement for travel insurance. We advise you to have private travel and medical insurance for the duration of your trip.

Applying for healthcare cover abroad (GHIC and EHIC) - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

Pollycat

Not France and not in-patient but I had a fall in Greece and went to one of their medical centres.
They asked to see my passport and GHIC .
They treated me and it was free except for the cost of the prescription.

krabople said:

how do I get them to recognise the GHIC card & be sure they'll only bill me for the 25% of the bill that UK citizens are required to pay?

Where has this figure come from?
Is that what a resident of France would pay for treatment?

bagand96

Remember that to use the GHIC you must go to (or try and ensure you are taken to) a state healthcare facility.  Not sure of the situation in France specifically but in many countries where a lot of tourists visit it can be easy for a tourist to end up in a private facility where the GHIC won't be valid.  For example in Spain/Greece where the nearest state facility may be some way from a resort town, but there's a handy private clinic right in the resort centre that the hotel staff will call or recommend.  Less of an issue in Paris I guess where there'll be plenty of state hospitals/clinics.

pollymarief

Hi I'm the mum in the original post to this thread. Thanks for all the replies. It's very confusing in Paris (any bureaucratic issue is) but I just wondered if there is anyone on here who has actually used the GHIC card & found it worked properly when visiting Paris? I have read that sometimes public hospitals charge 20% or sometimes cover the entire bill except for the daily charge that French residents also have to pay. But I cannot get a definitive answer from my online research as to whether they accept the card, if someone is admitted for emergency care or whether they expect the person to pay upfront & claim back later. Perhaps I will have to go & talk to CPAM (Caisse Primaire D'assurance Maladie)in the area I usually visit to ask about it since people in france keep mentioning this organisation.

Ganga

My cousin had a fall in France ,went to the local hospital where they took all the details of his EHIC card ,paid about 30 euros up front for the A & E dept, when they got home a bill for about 300 euros dropped on their doorstep ,was told to either pay the bill and claim the money back from the government or send them a letter and tell them that they accepted the card so not paying.