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Treatment abroad - VHI

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  • 27-05-2015 4:51pm
    #1
    RTM
    Registered Users Posts: 28 ✭


    I received emergency treatment while in Spain (had taken out travel insurance with AA but the hospital said they don't deal with AA directly, so I had to pay on my credit card). I returned home, with my receipts and medical reports etc, ready to claim it back on my VHI insurance. However, they make it very clear that a huge chunk of the claim form has to be filled out by the consulting doctor. Obviously I didn't know this and obviously I can't go back to Spain to ask him to fill it out. So is that it? Don't even bother and cut my losses?


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    #2
    Jim2007
    Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators Posts: 10,284 Mod ✭✭✭✭Jim2007


    Normally you should present your European Health Insurance Card - EHIC (http://www.hse.ie/eng/services/list/1/schemes/EHIC/) and get emergency treatment for free. So many you can claim it from them.

    As I understand it, the health insurance only cover the portion not covered by EHIC, so maybe the amount due from them is not very much in any case.


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    #3
    coylemj
    Registered Users Posts: 25,437 ✭✭✭✭coylemj


    Jim2007 wrote: »
    Normally you should present your European Health Insurance Card - EHIC (http://www.hse.ie/eng/services/list/1/schemes/EHIC/) and get emergency treatment for free. So many you can claim it from them.

    As I understand it, the health insurance only cover the portion not covered by EHIC, so maybe the amount due from them is not very much in any case.

    There have been lots of articles in newspapers about Spanish public hospitals refusing to accept the EHIC from tourists and asking for a credit card and private hospitals bribing ambulance drivers to bring them injured tourists, probably after establishing that they have insurance.

    The insurance companies expect to be contacted as soon as possible if you are admitted to a hospital for treatment, my AIG travel policy has a 24 hour UK number that you are supposed to call. The procedure is that you call the insurance company, give them your name, the policy details and the name of the hospital, they look after things from there. This is so that they can exercise some control over what treatment is administered and if you are in a country with substandard medical facilities, they may elect to get you out via medivac rather than have you treated locally.

    By handing over a credit card and not contacting the insurance the OP effectively gave the hospital a blank cheque, that is why the insurance people are putting obstacles in his way when he tries to make a claim.


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