Has anyone experienced emergency health care in Spain?

After hearing and reading about Spain allegedly charging visitors and holidaymakers in Spain, for emergency medical treatment, even though they hold an EHIC card, I thought it would be interesting to see if any of our TalkQuesada members have experience of the emergency health care system while in Spain. If so did you get asked to pay or did they accept your EHIC card?

The following was copied from the Daily Mail online (see link below to read more):


British tourists are being tricked into spending hundreds of pounds on emergency medical care in Spain that they should get for free, it has been claimed.
Public hospitals are reportedly rejecting European Health Insurance Cards and charging for treatment instead.
Under the card scheme, Europeans should be treated on the same terms as citizens of the country they are visiting.


In the case of Britons, the hospital bill would be picked up by the NHS at a later stage.
However, visitors to Spain, where healthcare is free, are being told to pay up front and reclaim the cost via their travel insurance.


*Hospitals in the cash-strapped country have refused to give free treatment to unwell holidaymakers

*European Commission has demanded answers after tourists were denied treatement or told to pay big medical bills


*A European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) is supposed to give all EU citizens access to state medical care in member countries


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z2V3WEksbu

Hi nevik,
Sorry to hear about your unfortunate experience with the emergency health care in Spain. You had a SIP card and you didn't get good service, dread to think how those of us with NHIC european cards may be treated!

Still be interested to hear how any one has actually got on using the EHIC card in Spain.

From what we hear in the UK, Spanish and other Europeans can access the NHS (as it should be of course, with an EHIC card) but the big problem though is that foreigners from non-EU countries are allegedly accessing the NHS in the UK and may not even be asked to pay. The debt in the UK from foreigners using our health system is allegedly so high that it is having to be written off, but IMO should not have accumulated in the first place!

I remember seeing a sign at St Thomas's Hospital in London a few years back which stated as much " If you are a citizen from another country, you may be asked to pay for treatment" or something like that, but I do remember the "may be asked to pay" bit quite clearly. If they were from a non-EU country why did we need to say "May" - It should have said 'will' be asked to pay.


It is very frustrating how soft the 'powers that be' are in the UK - There is some tightening-up supposedly going on at present, but it is really too little too late.


Sorry I have my Victor Meldrew head on today!


Jan.

Hi,
Still interested to hear if anyone has actually used the state health system in Spain, using the EHIC card or the old E111 card. Do they still ask for your health insurance? Was it easy or did you find it difficult?

Here's what the NHS says about the EHIC and below is a link to apply for one free:
"The European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) replaced the old E111 in 2006.
Your EHIC lets you get state healthcare at a reduced cost or sometimes for free. It will cover you for treatment that is needed to allow you to continue your stay until your planned return. It also covers you for treatment of pre-existing medical conditions and for routine maternity care, as long as you're not going abroad to give birth."


http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthcareabroad/EHIC/Pages/about-the-ehic.aspx



Jan.

have used the walk in centre (urgencia) a couple of times and it is marvellous, just a few moments to explain and produce the EHC and straight in, but you do need to be able to speak spanish, or take interpreter, fortunately we have learnt it, best thing we ever did.

ahloughlin wrote:have used the walk in centre (urgencia) a couple of times and it is marvellous, just a few moments to explain and produce the EHC and straight in, but you do need to be able to speak spanish, or take interpreter, fortunately we have learnt it, best thing we ever did.

Guapa wrote:My friend had many pre-existing medical problems plus she had a heart valve replaced two years ago in the UK where she lived. She arrived here with only an EHIC card as insurers wouldn't insure here for everything she told me.
She came here for three months in March but felt ill not long after arriving.

She was kept in Torrevieja hospital for three days then released. Time went by & she took ill again, was admitted for five days this time. Not long afterwards she felt ill again, went back in, she went downhill over three days & died. Seems the pig's valve that Papworth had put in wasn't big enough & had leaked.

She had taken out a Golden Leaves prepayment funeral plan so her body was attended to, cremated here then sent to the UK as she wanted.

Thank you for sharing your experiences. It is reassuring that the EHIC has worked and that the stories in the press, about the EHIC not being accepted, are hopefully not the norm.

Jan.