Whether you’re making your way overseas for business, a city break, a summer holiday – or even moving permanently – it’s essential to make sure that you make the necessary arrangements for your health before you set off. Not only does this mean that you’ll be prepared in the event that you need treatment, it also means that you’ll have peace of mind and be able to get on with all the things you set off abroad to do.
The basics for health abroad
The UK’s Foreign & Commonwealth advises that you contact your doctor a couple of months prior to travelling in order to check if there are vaccinations required or any other preventative health measures required. The National Travel Health Network and Centre (NaTHNaC) offers country-specific info with stuff on vaccine and non-vaccine preventable risks, as well as general health risks.
Health cover is also strongly advised. Even in countries where there are reciprocal agreements for healthcare – such as those within the European Economic Area – if you hold the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), it may cover you for certain treatments but doesn’t mean that the treatment would be free. This is because it offers tourists treatment under the same rules as a national of that country would receive. Therefore, if the state doesn’t cover all the cost of the treatment for citizens, then EHIC holders will be subject to the same treatment charges.
The FCO advises that people going overseas should have the right level of health cover prior to setting off, even if they are an EHIC holder ordinarily resident in one EEA country and visiting another within the EEA. The EHIC also doesn’t cover medical repatriation which can be really expensive in cases where it’s required.
Expats
Some countries are also concerned about people using their healthcare system when they don’t pay into the system, so in Spain for example people intending on staying longer than a certain amount of time are required to produce evidence that they can afford to support themselves (e.g proof of employment in the country) and in the case of those not working, valid international health insurance.
In one example cited by health cover provider AXA PPP International on their blog, someone who became unwell during a sailing excursion in the Caribbean had to go into hospital and was diagnosed with a condition which proved to be complex. The decision was then made by the medical team to fly the person to hospital on another island for treatment by specialists there. After a good while spent in that hospital the patient was then flown business class back to the UK. The costs of medical treatment plus the evacuation flight and the flight home added up to a total of four hundred thousand dollars – which only serves to highlight the massive importance of having the right insurance.
Knowing your way around health cover
Every so often over the past few years there’s been a survey showing the level of understanding people have around health cover either for travel or for expatriates. Many people apparently are unsure if they are even covered – or if they are covered, what’s included in the policy. One business study indicated that bosses within some firms were unsure of the difference between travel insurance and international insurance.
Most provider sites should give a detailed overview of what’s covered and there should normally be different levels of cover too, so when going abroad – make sure heath is a priority.
Jennifer Jones writes on travel and expat wellbeing topics for the web, and her Google+ profile is available to view here.
