The Cross Border Healthcare Directive establishes your rights to seek healthcare in other EU countries, but it is not designed to encourage or facilitate that choice. The onus is on the individual to find an appropriate provider.
So how do you go about finding healthcare overseas and what should you consider?
Finding healthcare providers in Europe
It is vitally important that you thoroughly research the medical treatment you are planning overseas. There are many websites, such as Treatment Abroad, which give detailed information on the services and standards you can expect to find across the 27 states of the EU. You will also find detailed information, listed by country, elsewhere on the EU Treatment website.
Under the Cross Border Healthcare Directive, each state is required to provide a National Contact Point by October 2013 giving information about healthcare services and standards in their country. However, the NHS is not required to provide information to you about healthcare in other states, and cannot comment about your choice unless they feel that the care you have chosen is inappropriate or unsafe.
Factors to consider
Getting medical treatment can be a traumatic experience at the best of times, so you need to know what else you will have to deal with if you choose treatment overseas. There are many factors to consider, including:
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Will there be English speaking doctors, and if not, will the hospital or clinic provide translators? Remember this may be an additional cost to the treatment, which you cannot claim back.
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Will the standards of care match your expectations and those in the UK?
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Is the number of nurses and doctors the same as in the UK?
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Will medical staff be qualified to the same high standards as the UK?
The more you research the treatment and the healthcare facility in which you will be treated, the more prepared you will be when you arrive. You want to feel completely confident in the facilities and staff you have chosen.
Availability of treatment
It is important to check that the treatment you are planning is available in the country of your choice for visiting EU citizens. There is no obligation for a healthcare provider to accept you for treatment, but they must be able to justify their refusal.
Reasons for refusal include lack of capacity or lack of funding, since you cannot be treated in another country at the expense of someone in the home system.
Check the overall costs
You should bear in mind that under the Cross Border Healthcare Directive, the NHS is only obliged to pay for the cost of your treatment (minus any co-payments), and not your travel or accommodation costs. You need to consider the total cost of your trip and how much of this you will have to pay yourself.
If you access your rights through the Cross Border Healthcare Directive, then you also need to consider that the NHS will only reimburse you up to the costs of the equivalent treatment in the UK, so it is well worth comparing the costs of treatment, especially from private providers, to reduce the amount you have to pay yourself. If you go overseas for treatment that costs more than the equivalent UK tariff, it is only fair that you pay the difference. Although some private clinics overseas will offer packages, with flights, accommodation and meals all included in the price, it is important to remember that the NHS will only reimburse you for the cost of your actual treatment.
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