Is there reluctance by EU countries to accept UK GHIC cards or is it something else?

murphydavid

Following advice that I have a GHIC card and holiday insurance. Arriving at an Greek medical facility the first thing they asked is for details of my medical insurance. I found that by imediately profering it they completely ignored the fact that I was entitled to state care via the GHIC and gave me "private" treatment. So maybe best not to tell them you have insurance at first contact and first produce your GHIC and be prepared to argue your case (which is not easy if you are not fluent in the language). What do you think?
Maybe I was just unlucky with my location and visited a private doctor and he assumed I knew what I was doing.
Of course; maybe I have an elevated expectation. After all NHS care in the UK involving "A and E" waiting for hours; Ambulance delays and the dificulty of getting to see a doctor. If I was Greek and couldn't speak English and had holiday insurance it might make me think that was the way to go.  

TadleyBaggie

So was it a state hospital or a private hospital? If the latter then I don't think they have any obligation to treat you under GHIC.

I had to go to hospital in Spain recently by ambulance, so had no idea where I was going. As it turned out it was a private hospital and had the same experience, i.e. I had to provide my insurance details up front.

Pollycat

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.

DullGreyGuy

Different countries work in different ways, with Greece the islands work differently to the mainland. 

The big question is if you went to a state run or private hospital, GHIC only applies to the former. There is a process for reclaiming anything you were billed if it was a state run facility and you were incorrectly charged. 

There used to be a very good official website that explained the cover provided in each country, how their system works etc. In some countries private is part of the system so you pay them but can then locally reclaim the costs up to a fixed amount.

Ganga

murphydavid said:

Following advice that I have a GHIC card and holiday insurance. Arriving at an Greek medical facility the first thing they asked is for details of my medical insurance. I found that by imediately profering it they completely ignored the fact that I was entitled to state care via the GHIC and gave me "private" treatment. So maybe best not to tell them you have insurance at first contact and first produce your GHIC and be prepared to argue your case (which is not easy if you are not fluent in the language). What do you think?
Maybe I was just unlucky with my location and visited a private doctor and he assumed I knew what I was doing.
Of course; maybe I have an elevated expectation. After all NHS care in the UK involving "A and E" waiting for hours; Ambulance delays and the dificulty of getting to see a doctor. If I was Greek and couldn't speak English and had holiday insurance it might make me think that was the way to go.  

I think you would be treated for free in the UK ,i know they are supposed to try and claw the costs back from your own country but i think they let it slide as they are over stretched anyway.