Expats urged to make correct use of EHIC cards

 A new campaign that is the result of an innovative partnership between the UK Government’s Department of Health  and the Generalitat Valencia , approved by the European Union, is to raise awareness on the use of the UK European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) over the next 15 months.

A campaign to explain how the cards should be used was launched in Alicante by David Pennington, Head of the Department of Health’s International Healthcare Team.

“Many British citizens living in Spain are confused about how to access state healthcare and many use their EHIC cards when they should be accessing healthcare in another way,” said Pennington. “This campaign explains who can use a UK-issued EHIC and what it is for. It also tells people about other ways to access state healthcare in Spain, depending on their circumstances.”

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW 

The UK European Health Insurance Card should be used to access medically-necessary state treatment during the course of a temporary stay in Spain. It does not provide access to all state treatment but for those in Spain on a temporary stay it is the correct way to access state healthcare. 

However, British citizens who mainly live in Spain should change the way they are registered, because for them the UK European Health Insurance Card is not the correct form of health cover (the new EHIC marketing and advertising campaign will explain how to do this). 

The campaign will also inform administrative staff of the Valencia Health Authority how the UK covers its citizens in Spain and how the UK reimburses Spain for the cost of medical care provided to British citizens.

Comprehensive information on the use of EHICs is available at:  www.healthcareinspain.eu.