The Gauze That Cost 128 Euro (Travelling in Europe with the EHIC)

When you travel in Europe, it does NOT matter WHERE you come from, but were you ARE. This means that you will be using the healthcare system as any citizen of the country you are in. If citizens of that country pay 30% of treatment costs, you will also.

This was brought home to a patient of mine when she went to France (where citizens pay for 30% of the treatment. The cost is capped), and her son fell down and got a cut.

It was a Sunday, and she took him to the hospital, that was in an almost deserted (small town), presented her EHIC which was a photocopy.  The child was seen by a general practitioner who took out gauze out of its package, the gauze fell onto the floor but the doctor he calmly picked it up and proceeded to “dress” the wound. With this type of treatment, it was not surprising that he dressing fell from the wound as soon as they left the hospital…..

There was more to come, the child was fine, but when they arrived home, The parents found this was waiting for them:

As you can see, they were charged:

3, 15€ for nurse care

8€ for taking care of the boy on a Sunday (how dare they?)

50€ for applying gauze…

23€ for a consultation

19€ more for a consultation on a Sunday!

25€ (this is the best) for using the waiting rooms & being treated……

BUT if you look closely where it says “taux”, that means % for the patient to pay, it does not say 30%, it says 100……. So I thought that they were invoicing them for the whole cost.

On the the back of the invoice it states that ‘if you were not happy with the amount, you could either go to the court or ask for a ”gracieux” recourse from the hospital director’. If you did not respond in two months that meant it was rejected….I don’t think so!

I called two times, and spoke to two different ladies, they assured me that 50€ for a “surgical act” or 23€ for a consultation was the 30%.

NO WAY.

So I started digging into the underworld of the French NHS, and after a few hours, I got every price they charge.

And yes, 50€ was the 100% , not 30%!.

So I stated again, this time talking to three different people, that, when they got fed up with me,  (always told me that I was calling the wrong number, and “sweetly”, in rapid fire french growled out another number for me to call).

After two days I finally got to speak to the head lady in invoices and YES, she acquiesced that the invoice was wrong, and sent one for the corresponding 30%

What is the lesson from this? Research before you go to a country that you don’t know the healthcare system, which you can do here. They also have a IOS, android & blackberry app.

Know your rights before you travel!

Please note: The information provided is based upon our understanding of current legislation. It is not legal advice but is provided freely to enable you to be properly informed. We recommend that if you are considering taking action, you should seek professional advice.