Hospitalization in the European Economic Area
For a French national, for hospitalization in another member country of the European Union, as well as in Norway, Iceland, Switzerland or Liechtenstein, the coverage takes health insurance into account French. In other words, the hospital administration will treat you as if you were a national of their country. However, each country applies its own regulations and to be supported, you will have to comply with them. From then on, you will only have to pay the remaining charge provided for by the local health insurance.
Our advice
To facilitate your formalities, remember to ask for your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) before leaving.
The advance of costs
Some countries ask for the costs to be advanced. In this case you have two solutions. Either you request a refund immediately from the local health insurance. Either you don’t have the time and will do it when you return to France. In the second case, consider asking for and keeping the original hospital bill.
This document will also be requested by your complementary health insurance and, possibly, your life accident guarantee (GAV), if you have taken out a specific provident policy. Depending on the guarantees of your contract, it can reimburse you for certain costs or treatments not covered by Social Security or your mutual insurance company .
Hospitalization outside Europe
Ifhospitalization occurs outside the European Union, it will be without a safety net! It is therefore important to take this into account when preparing your trip. Start by looking at what your credit card insurance covers. In general, if you pay for part of your trip using this means of payment, they all provide assistance: transport to the local hospital, repatriation if necessary, help for the family. On the other hand, the levels of reimbursement of costs are often low, even very insufficient in countries where health costs are expensive, such as the United States or Canada. In this case, the easiest way is to contact your insurance broker and choose tailor-made travel insurance.
