european health insurance card question...

i will be travelling to portugal in a few days. it's been a while since i went to another european country. i mainly go to canada. i have been told about this european health insurance card and i was just wondering... is this card compulsory? do i have to get it? i am so busy at the moment that another task is a bit much. i thought my ticket, passport, insurance through the travel agent and money was more than enough? why need a health card too? any info would be much appreciated. thanks.

The Card entitles you to necessary healthcare in the public system of any EU / EEA member state or Switzerland if you become ill or injured while on a temporary stay in that country. The Card does not cover the cost of treatment in a private setting. http://www.ehic.ie/faqs.htm

You need to give 10 to 12 days notice to apply for one, otherwise ring your local HSE office tomorrow and ask for a temporary card to be send out to you asap.

Is there any benefit in getting this at such short notice (Alex sounds like he definitely needs a holiday ) when he has already purchased travel insurance. What additional benefits does it provide?

Thanks,

Eamonn

I think that travel insurance will not cover medical expenses incurred unless the holder has a EHIC.

I am not sure to be honest, I am going away in a few days time and received my temporary health card today, I also have travel insurance. I think I got it for peace of mind more than anything else.

I was able to fax in the application form but the temporary card has got to be posted out so maybe it is too late at this stage for the poster.

bond-007 said:

I think that travel insurance will not cover medical expenses incurred unless the holder has a EHIC.

Click to expand...

Are you sure about this? I don't think that I've ever seen E111/EHIC mentioned in a travel insurance policy terms & conditions.

Ok if a person does not have a EHIC and ends up in a public hospital, the travel insurance may not refund any charges made by a public hospital because he should of had the EHIC to begin with.

Again I don't recall ever seeing such an exclusion clause in a travel insurance policy.

To the original poster - EHIC is not in any way compulsory but if travelling within the relevant area (EU and EEA and maybe a few more countries if I recall correctly?) it is prudent to carry one in case you need public health care.

I think maybe you need to apply for it alright just to be sure, this is what Quinn healthcare have to say,
http://www.quinn-healthcare.com/products_and_services/essential_plus/overseas.htm

Find out the rules for Portugal. At least for France if you go to approved hospitals you will not need to pay yourself and then seek a refund which is what your travel insurance would cover. Your insurance might only cover from a certain point on ie you pay 150 and they pay the rest. I ended up with an ingrowing toenail in Corsica a few years ago and got it seen to in a Corsican clinic (not approved so we had to claim back from Health Board when we got back)...a fabulous job done by the doctor there, and I got it all refunded including the antibiotics and painkillers - in fact we made a profit as the euro wasn't in at that stage!!

Here's the info on Portugal - http://www.ehic.ie/othereu.htm#por

Hospital treatment
Show your E111, European Health Insurance Card or Temporary Replacement Certificate to the hospital authorities and ask to be treated under EU arrangements. Basic hospital treatment is free but you will have to pay for secondary examinations, such as X-rays, and laboratory tests.

I would get it if you can get it in time, as another poster says you can register online. At the very least you could do this now for any other potential trips, the EHIC card is valid for a couple of years, you then renew online.

You can print off a form from the web and go into any of the local offices and get it stamped there and it is valid in the meantime. My card had expired and I had to travel, so downloaded the form, filled it in, went into the office on Lord Edward Street and had it stamped within about 2 mins.
As stated in the FAQs on the web
What if I don’t have time to get a Card before I travel?
You can get a Temporary Replacement Certificate, which gives you the same entitlement as the Card, but for a shorter period, and can be issued by your local Health Office (list of them on the same site linked to above). One Temporary Replacement Certificate is issued per person

even if don't have time to get one for this trip, well worth having it for future. It covers you for same medical/dental that a local person would be entitled to in a public setting. used it for dd last year who broke tooth. Our travel insurance had an excess (don't they all) and wouldn't have covered it. Only ended up paying something like 30 euro for dental xrays, root canal pins, filling, etc.

thanks for all the replies. i went to a near by health centre this morning and got a temporary cert. i even got it there and then. the card will follow shortly. most likely when i get back. i'm glad i went about it. i only found out about the ehic a few days ago.