Global Health Card

jenny63_2

We are a couple in our late 70s and visit our holiday apartment in Mallorca usually five times a year always with travel insurance. A friend of ours suffered a stroke at 3 in the morning in Tenerife, called an ambulance and was taken to nearest hospital where he stayed for five days. Their insurers refused to pay the 7,500 euros bill as it was a private hospital and he had not declared a URTI three months ago, which had cleared with anti biotics. It was an emergency and his wife was unaware that the hospital was a private one and the travel insurance did not cover private hospitals. I have never heard of this before. My question is do we need travel insurance at all as we do not need cancellation, loss of luggage, repatriation etc. The Global Health card covers us for all treatment in a public hospital. My friends experience has unnerved me and with the increase for over 80s I feel it is not worth. Has anyone else had this experience with not being covered for private treatment?

TELLIT01

GHIC only covers hospital treatment and would not pay for repatriation (for example) in the event of serious illness or injury.  It would seem you friend made two mistakes.  Firstly not declaring all illness and secondly not reporting the medical situation to their insurer promptly.  I understand why it wouldn't be the first thing his wife thought of but it needed to be done promptly to avoid the situation they ended up experiencing.

zagfles

TELLIT01 said:

GHIC only covers hospital treatment and would not pay for repatriation (for example) in the event of serious illness or injury.  It would seem you friend made two mistakes.  Firstly not declaring all illness and secondly not reporting the medical situation to their insurer promptly.  I understand why it wouldn't be the first thing his wife thought of but it needed to be done promptly to avoid the situation they ended up experiencing.

Why would you need to declare an illness you've recovered from? Seems a bit extreme. Do you declare all illnesses you've had and recovered from? 

The far more concerning issue is why this person ended up in a private hospital, assuming they called the 112 emergency number. It would like be dialing 999 in the UK and being taken to a private hospital and then getting billed for it as you don't have private health insurance. 

marcia_

zagfles said:

TELLIT01 said:

GHIC only covers hospital treatment and would not pay for repatriation (for example) in the event of serious illness or injury.  It would seem you friend made two mistakes.  Firstly not declaring all illness and secondly not reporting the medical situation to their insurer promptly.  I understand why it wouldn't be the first thing his wife thought of but it needed to be done promptly to avoid the situation they ended up experiencing.

Why would you need to declare an illness you've recovered from? Seems a bit extreme. Do you declare all illnesses you've had and recovered from? 

The far more concerning issue is why this person ended up in a private hospital, assuming they called the 112 emergency number. It would like be dialing 999 in the UK and being taken to a private hospital and then getting billed for it as you don't have private health insurance. 

 Because insurers want you to. There might be a likelihood of it returning. 

 If you go through the medical questionnaire it asks you if you have had treatments and if you have received treatment or had a condition in the last xx years  

Pollycat

jenny63_2 said:

We are a couple in our late 70s and visit our holiday apartment in Mallorca usually five times a year always with travel insurance. A friend of ours suffered a stroke at 3 in the morning in Tenerife, called an ambulance and was taken to nearest hospital where he stayed for five days. Their insurers refused to pay the 7,500 euros bill as it was a private hospital and he had not declared a URTI three months ago, which had cleared with anti biotics. It was an emergency and his wife was unaware that the hospital was a private one and the travel insurance did not cover private hospitals. I have never heard of this before. My question is do we need travel insurance at all as we do not need cancellation, loss of luggage, repatriation etc. The Global Health card covers us for all treatment in a public hospital. My friends experience has unnerved me and with the increase for over 80s I feel it is not worth. Has anyone else had this experience with not being covered for private treatment?

How do you know you don't need insurance for repatriation? 

zagfles

marcia_ said:

zagfles said:

TELLIT01 said:

GHIC only covers hospital treatment and would not pay for repatriation (for example) in the event of serious illness or injury.  It would seem you friend made two mistakes.  Firstly not declaring all illness and secondly not reporting the medical situation to their insurer promptly.  I understand why it wouldn't be the first thing his wife thought of but it needed to be done promptly to avoid the situation they ended up experiencing.

Why would you need to declare an illness you've recovered from? Seems a bit extreme. Do you declare all illnesses you've had and recovered from? 

The far more concerning issue is why this person ended up in a private hospital, assuming they called the 112 emergency number. It would like be dialing 999 in the UK and being taken to a private hospital and then getting billed for it as you don't have private health insurance. 

 Because insurers want you to. There might be a likelihood of it returning. 

 If you go through the medical questionnaire it asks you if you have had treatments and if you have received treatment or had a condition in the last xx years  

I had a cold a month ago, I took some Lemsip, should I tell my insurance?

Seriously, looking at my policy there's a medical declaration that only lists serious conditions and recent in-patient treatment, waiting for in-patient treatment, travelling against medical advice etc. Nothing about an illness you've recovered from (unless in-patient treatment was required). OP's policy seems way OTT. 

zagfles

Pollycat said:

jenny63_2 said:

We are a couple in our late 70s and visit our holiday apartment in Mallorca usually five times a year always with travel insurance. A friend of ours suffered a stroke at 3 in the morning in Tenerife, called an ambulance and was taken to nearest hospital where he stayed for five days. Their insurers refused to pay the 7,500 euros bill as it was a private hospital and he had not declared a URTI three months ago, which had cleared with anti biotics. It was an emergency and his wife was unaware that the hospital was a private one and the travel insurance did not cover private hospitals. I have never heard of this before. My question is do we need travel insurance at all as we do not need cancellation, loss of luggage, repatriation etc. The Global Health card covers us for all treatment in a public hospital. My friends experience has unnerved me and with the increase for over 80s I feel it is not worth. Has anyone else had this experience with not being covered for private treatment?

How do you know you don't need insurance for repatriation? 

Because they go to countries that have hospitals, perhaps.  

Pollycat

zagfles said:

Pollycat said:

jenny63_2 said:

We are a couple in our late 70s and visit our holiday apartment in Mallorca usually five times a year always with travel insurance. A friend of ours suffered a stroke at 3 in the morning in Tenerife, called an ambulance and was taken to nearest hospital where he stayed for five days. Their insurers refused to pay the 7,500 euros bill as it was a private hospital and he had not declared a URTI three months ago, which had cleared with anti biotics. It was an emergency and his wife was unaware that the hospital was a private one and the travel insurance did not cover private hospitals. I have never heard of this before. My question is do we need travel insurance at all as we do not need cancellation, loss of luggage, repatriation etc. The Global Health card covers us for all treatment in a public hospital. My friends experience has unnerved me and with the increase for over 80s I feel it is not worth. Has anyone else had this experience with not being covered for private treatment?

How do you know you don't need insurance for repatriation? 

Because they go to countries that have hospitals, perhaps.  

Repatriation:

If you have a medical emergency during your holiday, you might need to be brought back to the UK early. This can be very expensive, but repatriation insurance can offer a helping hand.

Key takeaways

• Repatriation travel insurance covers the costs of getting you back home in an emergency. This can include medical emergencies, accidents, or even political unrest.

• Repatriation can be expensive. Travel insurance helps cover these costs, which can include transport, medical attention during transport, and even an escort.

Repatriation And Travel Insurance | MoneySuperMarket

Would a hospital cover those costs?
Of course it wouldn't.

My friend's Mum fell downstairs - in Spain - and was in hospital for several weeks and was flown home in a private jet with medical staff in attendance.
She had repatriation insurance.

People should really understand what repatriation means and the potential cost before deciding they don't need it.
Especially someone in their late 70s. 

zagfles

Pollycat said:

zagfles said:

Pollycat said:

jenny63_2 said:

We are a couple in our late 70s and visit our holiday apartment in Mallorca usually five times a year always with travel insurance. A friend of ours suffered a stroke at 3 in the morning in Tenerife, called an ambulance and was taken to nearest hospital where he stayed for five days. Their insurers refused to pay the 7,500 euros bill as it was a private hospital and he had not declared a URTI three months ago, which had cleared with anti biotics. It was an emergency and his wife was unaware that the hospital was a private one and the travel insurance did not cover private hospitals. I have never heard of this before. My question is do we need travel insurance at all as we do not need cancellation, loss of luggage, repatriation etc. The Global Health card covers us for all treatment in a public hospital. My friends experience has unnerved me and with the increase for over 80s I feel it is not worth. Has anyone else had this experience with not being covered for private treatment?

How do you know you don't need insurance for repatriation? 

Because they go to countries that have hospitals, perhaps.  

Repatriation:

If you have a medical emergency during your holiday, you might need to be brought back to the UK early. This can be very expensive, but repatriation insurance can offer a helping hand.

Key takeaways

• Repatriation travel insurance covers the costs of getting you back home in an emergency. This can include medical emergencies, accidents, or even political unrest.

• Repatriation can be expensive. Travel insurance helps cover these costs, which can include transport, medical attention during transport, and even an escort.

Repatriation And Travel Insurance | MoneySuperMarket

Would a hospital cover those costs?
Of course it wouldn't.

My friend's Mum fell downstairs - in Spain - and was in hospital for several weeks and was flown home in a private jet with medical staff in attendance.
She had repatriation insurance.

People should really understand what repatriation means and the potential cost before deciding they don't need it.
Especially someone in their late 70s. 

Wonder how Spanish people cope if they have an accident in Spain? Do they airlifted to the UK? OP even has an apartment there. Personally I wouldn't class repatriation insurance as "essential" whatever anecdotes you can find. I'd be happy to recover locally until I could travel home by normal means. Similar to if I had an accident in the UK 300 miles from home. 

Pollycat

zagfles said:

Pollycat said:

zagfles said:

Pollycat said:

jenny63_2 said:

We are a couple in our late 70s and visit our holiday apartment in Mallorca usually five times a year always with travel insurance. A friend of ours suffered a stroke at 3 in the morning in Tenerife, called an ambulance and was taken to nearest hospital where he stayed for five days. Their insurers refused to pay the 7,500 euros bill as it was a private hospital and he had not declared a URTI three months ago, which had cleared with anti biotics. It was an emergency and his wife was unaware that the hospital was a private one and the travel insurance did not cover private hospitals. I have never heard of this before. My question is do we need travel insurance at all as we do not need cancellation, loss of luggage, repatriation etc. The Global Health card covers us for all treatment in a public hospital. My friends experience has unnerved me and with the increase for over 80s I feel it is not worth. Has anyone else had this experience with not being covered for private treatment?

How do you know you don't need insurance for repatriation? 

Because they go to countries that have hospitals, perhaps.  

Repatriation:

If you have a medical emergency during your holiday, you might need to be brought back to the UK early. This can be very expensive, but repatriation insurance can offer a helping hand.

Key takeaways

• Repatriation travel insurance covers the costs of getting you back home in an emergency. This can include medical emergencies, accidents, or even political unrest.

• Repatriation can be expensive. Travel insurance helps cover these costs, which can include transport, medical attention during transport, and even an escort.

Repatriation And Travel Insurance | MoneySuperMarket

Would a hospital cover those costs?
Of course it wouldn't.

My friend's Mum fell downstairs - in Spain - and was in hospital for several weeks and was flown home in a private jet with medical staff in attendance.
She had repatriation insurance.

People should really understand what repatriation means and the potential cost before deciding they don't need it.
Especially someone in their late 70s. 

Wonder how Spanish people cope if they have an accident in Spain? Do they airlifted to the UK? OP even has an apartment there. Personally I wouldn't class repatriation insurance as "essential" whatever anecdotes you can find. I'd be happy to recover locally until I could travel home by normal means. Similar to if I had an accident in the UK 300 miles from home. 

That's just a silly comment.

An apartment in Spain (or anywhere) won't be much use if they are unconscious in hospital.

And what if your recovery takes months, even years?

I can find lots of anecdotes of people crowdfunding to raise money to cover repatriation after a family member has been taken ill or had an accident. 

Comparing an accident in Spain by a UK citizen to one in the UK is nonsense.

You may not consider repatriation insurance cover essential but at least now the OP can consider if they still think repatriation cover isn't needed for them.

marcia_

zagfles said:

Pollycat said:

jenny63_2 said:

We are a couple in our late 70s and visit our holiday apartment in Mallorca usually five times a year always with travel insurance. A friend of ours suffered a stroke at 3 in the morning in Tenerife, called an ambulance and was taken to nearest hospital where he stayed for five days. Their insurers refused to pay the 7,500 euros bill as it was a private hospital and he had not declared a URTI three months ago, which had cleared with anti biotics. It was an emergency and his wife was unaware that the hospital was a private one and the travel insurance did not cover private hospitals. I have never heard of this before. My question is do we need travel insurance at all as we do not need cancellation, loss of luggage, repatriation etc. The Global Health card covers us for all treatment in a public hospital. My friends experience has unnerved me and with the increase for over 80s I feel it is not worth. Has anyone else had this experience with not being covered for private treatment?

How do you know you don't need insurance for repatriation? 

Because they go to countries that have hospitals, perhaps.  

 You are so hysterical 😂🤣😂🤣😂