Travelling abroad can be fraught with worries anyway for nervous passengers, but when you have medical needs, that anxiety takes on a new depth. What happens if you need medical care while you’re abroad in Europe, you might be thinking. And understandably so. But there are systems and support structures that can make it not only possible for you to travel with relative ease and comfort, but that actively help you to do so, adding in a layer of reassurance that is all the more welcome for being entirely reliable.

The EHIC is a card which allows people living in certain areas to access free or heavily subsidised medical care while travelling through Europe.

Do note that these cards are not to be used in place of travel insurance and nor will they cover any ‘medical tourism’ procedures. They are purely intended to cover you in the instances of emergency medical care: sudden illness, unexpected injury, and maintaining good quality of life for existing conditions.

However, there is a small caveat with the latter: when possible, make sure you plan ahead and let medical people in your destination city or town know that you are coming to stay, when that will be, and what medications or treatments you might need during that time. This is purely because some medical items need to be requested well in advance from central supplies – often a time-consuming process that it is hard to circumnavigate or speed up when you are in a hurry for your struggling body!

Despite the above caveat, this aspect of the EHIC/GHIC is especially useful for people with a reliance on medical oxygen or who have pre-existing conditions (which are sometimes specifically excluded by travel insurers.). So if you’re planning a trip within Europe and have medical needs, your EHIC/ GHIC could be the most important thing you pack; aside from your passport, of course!

What is an EHIC/ GHIC and Who Can Use Which?

EHIC stands for, very simply, the European Health Insurance Card, and it is a reciprocal agreement between a large group of countries to dramatically minimise costs incurred when accidents happen or illnesses unexpectedly strike. So what does EHIC cover during travel? In short, they provide healthcare for travellers in Europe

Post Brexit, which took the UK out of the EU, this has largely been replaced by the GHIC (Global Health Insurance Card) which offers the same protections, just with some extra countries included under its umbrella than the original 27 EU member countries (plus Switzerland, Norway and so on).

Both cards are free to apply for if you are a UK national, but you should get your form filled in long before you want to travel as the card must be verified before it is processed and sent to you. If you already have an EHIC for medical travel, it remains valid until its expiry date, but any new applications will automatically be processed as GHICs, unless you have an exemption under the withdrawal agreement.

Using these cards, whichever you have, can be a godsend, ensuring that travellers are not suddenly expected to find a large sum of money to put towards medical care. In participating countries, healthcare will be provided for a very low sum, if not completely free, at point of use. There is no discrimination between EHIC/GHIC holders and residents of the country: all necessary care medical needs will be met to the same high and scrupulous standards.

What is ‘Necessary Care’? (And What is Not Covered?)

Necessary care is a hard phrase to define, mainly as the official definition goes as follows: ‘It follows from the definition of the concept of “necessary care” in Article 25 IR that this concept is a flexible one that has to be assessed on a case by case basis.’ So in short, no one can tell you what ‘necessary care’ means unless they are looking at the patient in real time.

However, the concept includes any treatment that will allow you to safety continue your trip in reasonable comfort, with a good quality of life.

The judgement will be made by a medical professional, not an insurance broker, so you can be sure that the decision will be made with your health at the forefront of proceedings, rather than the all-consuming dollars as is the case with insurance companies.

Pre-existing conditions that are chronic – long-term respiratory disease, for example, or poor heart health – as well as emergency care are included. Emergency care includes broken bones, sudden onset illnesses like flu, norovirus, and the like. Pregnancy, despite sometimes being styled as a ‘self-inflicted injury’, is included in this category, although there is an expectation that you would not travel if you were very close to your due date, so any medical provided should fall under the category of ante-natal care, rather than active birth plans.

Don’t worry if you also have more serious long-term illnesses, such as kidney disease, cancers or require intensive oxygen therapy treatments: using EHIC or GHIC with chronic illness is one of its intended purposes: you can access your usual dose of chemotherapy, dialysis, and even your usual oxygen cylinders, as long as you’ve made a few calls (or sent a few emails) and availability of your needed treatment is confirmed before you travel

What’s Not Covered

If you’re travelling to get your teeth done in Poland, or to enjoy a cosmetic treatment in Turkey (both popular medical tourism destinations and procedures) the EHIC and GHIC will not cover those costs for you. This is because they are elective operations and because you have travelled specifically to have these operations performed. Private medical treatment is also not covered: you will have to accept whatever the NHS-equivalent’s medical treatment protocols are, while you are on holiday. Bear in mind that many countries in the EU hardly have private medical offers because the standard of care is so high and convenient so this is not really a drawback at all.

Emergency repatriation after any kind of medical treatment is also not included.

For any of the above factors, it is strongly recommended that you take out travel insurance to cover the expenses that the GHIC and EHIC do not.

Using the EHIC/ GHIC for Pre-Existing Conditions

If you have been diagnosed with a medical condition before you apply for travel insurance (including the GHIC), this is what is known as a ‘pre-existing condition’. While many travel insurance policies specifically refuse to cover pre-existing conditions, EHICs/ GHICs do not. They are designed to ensure that you can continue to receive treatment for your ailment, without needing to pay huge sums to do so. This is reassuring to travellers who require regular medication or portable oxygen – it means that you can make travel plans without having to set aside huge sums of money simply to be able to afford to survive your holiday or business trip.

However, do make sure that you do your due diligence before you set off:

  • Have a medical summary – this is a short report which details your medical history and notes what medications you use and what regular interventions you might need
  • Have a plan – get in touch with medical facilities in the area where you will be travelling and arrange for them to be expecting you when you need treatments during your holiday, be it a session of chemo, kidney dialysis or a bout of oxygen therapy
  • Documentation – your EHIC or GHIC will be your passport to medical care so have it readily to hand, along with your actual passport to prove your identity, a current prescription to prove your medical needs, and any other documentation that might be necessary

Important Tips Before You Travel

Check your EHIC or GHIC is valid. They last for five years, so it can be all too easy to assume that it still has some time left on it. It is best practice, according to the NHS, to renew your EHIC when it has about nine months left before the expiry date – it is free, so you will not lose any money by renewing a little sooner.

Make sure your prescriptions, health summary, and any other medical documentation is all together, readily accessible and secure, especially if you are travelling to a country where medical equipment and supplies are strictly regulated.

Keep your new medical contacts handy – there is little point in organizing an alternative supply of medication if you cannot access it once you’re away from home and your handy list of regular contacts! Save them into your phone, but also jot them down on a piece of paper or in the notebook that remains with you at all times.

If you require medical oxygen, sign up with OxygenWorldwide to ensure that your supply of oxygen is available to you on time, in sufficient quantities, when and where you need it. Keep OxygenWorldwide’s emergency number and regular contact information close to hand too.

Consider taking out an extra travel insurance policy to cover you should you suffer a relapse and need medical repatriation. Being able to take advantage of private medical care is also reassuring: when you fall ill abroad, it can be overwhelming and lonely – having a private medical team take care of you can help to ease your worries and help you get back on track a little quicker.

How OxygenWorldwide Can Help You

For users of medical oxygen, ensuring a supply of oxygen in the right equipment, delivered to your holiday accommodation in the right quantities can seem daunting. OxygenWorldwide was established for exactly this purpose, and we can:

  • Work with local suppliers in your destination country
  • Deliver oxygen to you, at your airport, at your hotel, or elsewhere in transit
  • Discuss all your needs and the logistics of supplying your oxygen with you before you travel

Think of us as a supplementary service to your EHIC/ GHIC coverage, so there are no gaps in your medical provision, from the moment you leave home, until you return again and your regular supply takes over.If you are going to be travelling to Europe, the EHIC/ GHIC is an essential tool to ensure your holiday is going to run smoothly. Give yourself the best chance of avoiding snafus by checking your coverage and taking out extra, if needed, and for oxygen users, you could do no better than to plan ahead by signing up with OxygenWorldwide and letting us take care of your oxygen supply and delivery while you get on with exploring the world and living your best life. Contact OxygenWorldwide to arrange oxygen support for your trip.