When preparing to go away, it's likely you'll be concerned about what to pack and whether or not the weather will allow you to enjoy your trip. You don't often think about what to do if you need medical treatment whilst abroad.
In order to deal with this, many people take out a temporary health insurance policy to cover them while they are away from home, if they're going to be away for a while. For short breaks covering a weekend or a three or four day bank holiday, the vast majority of people forget about travel insurance altogether and just focus on their adventure.
What a lot of people don't know is that, if their trip is within the European Union, there is a resource that is available that will cover them in the event of an accident.
In which countries can you use the European Health Insurance Card?
A European Health Insurance Card will allow the holder to access the medical assistance they might need during a short stay in any member countries of the European Union (Germany, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia, Denmark, Slovakia, Slovenia, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, The Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Romania, Sweden), plus countries in the European Economic Area (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway) and Switzerland.
The holder of the European Health Insurance Card and the beneficiaries under their care will receive the same conditions in terms of health treatment as any insured person in the country where they are travelling.
The health insurance card can be requested directly online by accessing the state administration portal from the Social Security e-Office, and will be sent to the address provided during the application process.
The use of the European Health Insurance Card is reduced to temporary stays in the countries mentioned above, excluding journeys made with the intention of receiving specific medical treatment or changes of residence from one country to another.
The validity of this European resource will be indicated on the card itself and, in some cases it may be necessary to make an additional payment if insured persons in the destination country are required to do so.
