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We are looking to take a winter break early next year to celebrate my husbands 70th birthday, but are not sure what medical cover we can get as British citizens traveling within the EEC? (Spain)

We have looked at taking out insurance via one of the main companies, but because im diabetic the majority of the companies will not cover us for any treatment required for any condition which is part of the illness. For this trip we wont be taking the van but will be be flying and staying in a hotel.

Any advice please would be most welcome

Julia

Julia

Have a look here https://www.ehic.org.uk/Internet/home.do  as it should explain everything you need to know. As far as insurance, which is important to have in addition to the EHIC, I am urprised you are having difficulty. It may depend whether you are type 1 or 2 diabetes and whether it is currently under control. Maragert has type 2 and its never been a problem with the Caravan Club Red Pennant although we do have to undertake a telephone assessment. Have you tried SAGA? Or perhaps any of the Diabetic organisations who may be able to offer advice.

David

Hi Julia,

I have a couple of medical conditions, including Diabetes. I have just got cover with Saga without any problems.

The problem with taking out seperate insurance for yourself and your husband is that only you would be covered, ie. if, say you had to cancel prior to going, or you were hospitalised overseas, then your husbands insurance company wouldn't cover any cost incurred by him. So whilst your expenses would be covered, his wont be. He may have to miss his flight/ stay extra nights in a hotel if you were in hospital. IMHO, it's not worth it.

One of the questions he will be asked is " is there any reason why the holiday may be cancelled or curtailed?" so he would still have to declare your illness to comply with the strict terms of his insurance.

And as Liz said, make sure you have got your EHIC card but don't be tempted to only rely on that, because it will only cover you for the basic medical treatment of thr country you are visiting.

Thanks for the links guys, i will try them all later when the offices open again after the bank holiday, it doesnt make it any easier due to the fact that hubby will be over 70 when we travel, so a lot of companies have a cut off age of 65 for full cover.

Im Type 2 btw, but also have high BP which is controlled by tablets and have recently had an angiogram which showed slight ischemia, which sometimes gives me angina pain on exertion and im sometimes prone to having an irregular heartbeat which the doctor says is benign(not dangerous).

Julia

Quote: Originally posted by degsy001 on 31/5/2010

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..............   And as Liz said, make sure you have got your EHIC card but don't be tempted to only rely on that, because it will only cover you for the basic medical treatment of thr country you are visiting.

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You will get all the treatment you need to make you well and keep you alive not just some 'basic' treatment! Medical treatment will be at least as good as in UK, possibly better.  The only difficulty is that you may have to pay for certain treatments although you can reclaim the money later; although for minor treatments the health staff may not bother to charge because they don't need the hassle of form-filling any more than you do!

ALL fees will not be refunded under EHIC. You will be refunded approx.70% of standard doctors/dentist fees and between 35% and 65% of most prescribed medicine.

If you are treated as an in-patient, it's possible that they will be paid direct, but you would be billed for the outstanding amount. Plus any fixed daily hospital charge  will not be refunded under EHIC.

And if the country visited has a poor local health service, then that is what you get, although it may cover the cost of treatment in certain approved private clinics, which may or may not be many miles away.

It will also not cover any repatriation for futher treatment.

As I said previously, dont just rely on your EHIC.

Thanks for all you help, we have now managed to get cover from Saga Travel insurance, it wasnt cheap by far, but it was one of a very few who would cover me for my health problems and cover Hubby for his age!

Julia

Hi Julia,

Glad you got it sorted and hope you and your hubby have a great time.