Don’t Forget Your EHIC Before Moving to France
At a reduced cost but typically free of charge, the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) enables anyone to receive any medical treatment in another member state. Launched on June 1st 2004, this card protects any person who is insured by a statutory social security scheme of the EU countries (including Switzerland), in the only case when this treatment becomes necessary during your visit in France (e.g. traffic collision.)
This recently-launched plan intends to allow people to continue their stay in that foreign country without going back home for medical care. Nevertheless, it does not cover people who have visited a country for the purpose of obtaining medical care. For example, if you go for a dental treatment, it will not be covered by this insurance as it can be delayed until the visitor returns home.
It only covers healthcare which is normally covered by a health care system in the visited country, so it does not render travel insurance obsolete. France is one of the European countries in which you will meet the best insurance and social security system.
Note that the EHI card is applicable in all French overseas departments (Martinique, Guadeloupe, Reunion and French Guyana) as they are part of the EU. However, this plan is not available in non-EU dependent territories such as Jersey, the Isle of Man, Aruba or French Polynesia. There are agreements though for the use of the card in faraway territories such as the Faroe Islands and Greenland, even though they do not belong to the EU.
In some cases, even if a person is covered by the health insurance of an EU country, one is not eligible for a European Health Insurance Card. The great advantage of this card is that everything is centralized into a very efficient software system, so that it is much easier to deal with problems. Then, it constitutes a substitute to a classic medical form:
– For international transporters
– For tourists
– For unemployed/job seekers
– For students and workers in another member state
Here are the European countries that take this card into account:
Austria – Belgium – Bulgaria – Cyprus (but not in the North) – Czech Republic – Denmark – Estonia – Finland – France – Germany – Greece – Hungary – Iceland – Ireland – Italy – Latvia – Liechtenstein – Malta – Netherlands – Norway – Lithuania – Luxembourg – Poland – Portugal – Romania – Slovakia – Slovenia – Spain – Sweden – Switzerland (excluding Bulgarian and Romanian nationals) – United Kingdom.