Newsflash - EHIC
Many people seem to rely on European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) If you are one of them, please, take a look at this. It will make you think twice about not having travel insurance when going on a trip.
We are receiving an increasing number of reports from clients that some Spanish hospitals and clinics are refusing to recognise the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). This is a real cause for concern and we would appreciate feedback from anyone who experiences difficulty in receiving medical treatment in order that we can verify this worrying situation.
The EHIC should allow all EU citizens access to state medical care across the union. However, as the Greek debt crisis worsens, severe cuts to hospital services are being made and tourists have been warned not to rely on the card. For almost a quarter of a million holidaymakers travelling to Greece without insurance this summer, this could mean private healthcare bills of thousands of euros. Currently Greece still accepts the EHIC. But as their hospitals ration medication, limit non-urgent operations and curtail treatment even for Greek nationals, EHIC holders are increasingly being covered only for locally-provided care.
