On Holiday Here?

European Health Insurance Card (EHIC )

If you hold a UK Passport then a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) entitles you to reduced-cost, sometimes free, medical treatment that becomes necessary while you're in Spain. It is normally valid for three to five years and covers any medical treatment that becomes necessary during your trip, because of either illness or an accident. The card gives access to state-provided medical treatment and you will be treated on the same basis as an insured person living here.

The EHIC also covers any treatment you need for a chronic disease or pre-existing illness (but you need to make arrangements in advance for kidney dialysis and oxygen therapy). To arrange for kidney dialysis while you are in Spain contact your NHS renal unit in the UK before you travel. For limited information on oxygen supply services call the Department of Health's Customer Service Centre on 020 7210 4850.

You may be entitled to reimbursement of any contribution you have made where the actual cost of your hospital treatment abroad (minus the amount of the contribution you have made towards the cost of your treatment abroad) is less than what it would have cost the NHS to have provided the hospital treatment in the UK. You are not entitled to be reimbursed an amount greater than the contribution you made.

You are advised to take out private travel insurance to cover any contribution which is not reimbursable, as well as anything not covered by the EHIC. The EHIC will not provide cover you if getting medical treatment is the main purpose of your trip, but it should cover you for routine maternity care while you are away. If you are coming to Spain to have your baby, you will need an E112 form.

You can apply for an EHIC card in several ways: online, by post or telephone.

When seeking treatment in Spain make sure the doctor or you use works within the Spanish state health service. In some parts of Iberia, particularly the outlying islands, you may have to travel some distance to attend a state surgery, health centre or hospital clinic. If you have to call out a doctor in an emergency then make it clear that you have an European Health Insurance Card and that you want to be treated under the EU arrangements. Doctors, health centres and hospitals have separate surgery times for private patients and those treated under the state health service. If you are asked to pay, you are not being treated under the Spanish health service and your EHIC will not be accepted.

Dental treatment is not generally provided under the Spanish state system, and the costs will not be reimbursed.

A doctor will usually arrange any hospital treatment you may need, but in an emergency you can only get free treatment in a public ward at a public hospital. You must show your EHIC or you will be charged as a private patient and will not get your money back. Make sure you have private medical insurance in case you are treated in an emergency in a private hospital. Doctors in the emergency departments of state health service hospitals can prescribe medicines on the but do not issue official prescriptions. You must take the report to a primary care doctor who will issue the official prescription.

Prescriptions medicines can be obtained from any pharmacy and will have to pay up to 40% of the cost unless you are a UK or other European Economic Area (EEA) pensioner, in which case the medicines are supplied free of charge. You must show proof that you are a state pensioner; otherwise you will be charged 40% of the cost, which you can claim back on your return to the UK.

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