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For extra security while on travel – EHIC
What is EHIC?
The EHIC (European Health Insurance Card) is a document that certifies the right of all residents of the European Union, the European Economic Area and the Swiss Confederation to the same access to public sector health care as that of nationals of the country being visited.
How does EHIC work?
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All residents of the Republic of Latvia who have a Latvian personal identity number can receive an EHIC free of charge.
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An EHIC does not cover the cost of client transportation, repatriation, emergency medical services/rescue services or patient fees. All these are covered by BTA Travel Insurance though. So it should be remembered that the EHIC and voluntary health insurance do not exclude each other.
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An EHIC will be accepted if a given clinic is a member of the sickness insurance scheme of the country being visited, and if the clinic accepts the EHIC. Therefore, before seeking medical assistance, the Customer has to make sure that the given clinic accepts the EHIC.
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Even if the clinic accepts the EHIC, the Customer will have to pay himself/herself the patient fee established in the given country. In Latvia the patient fee is comparatively small, but elsewhere in Europe it may be ten times larger.
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An EHIC provides that the clinic will be returned the money from the Latvian state budget within 2 years, which is why private clinics, including dentists and clinics at skiing resorts, do not accept the EHIC.
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Persons who work and pay taxes in any of the countries listed in Section 1 must apply for the EHIC in the country where they are employed.
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An example of why an EHIC and Travel Insurance are necessary when going on a visit abroad:
A resident of Latvia became ill whilst visiting a country in Europe, and she had to be placed in a clinic.
When her condition improved slightly, and it became possible to evacuate her to Latvia, the bill for the medical services she had been provided had reached EUR 24,000.
The EHIC covered 75% (EUR 18,000) of the cost of medical services; the woman would have to pay the remaining 25% (EUR 6,000) herself, but luckily she had bought BTA Travel Insurance before the trip, therefore this part of the cost was covered by the insurer.
Medical evacuation, which cost EUR 4,300, was covered by BTA Travel Insurance, because the EHIC does not cover the cost of client transportation, repatriation, emergency medical services/rescue services or patient fees.
If the woman had not bought BTA Travel Insurance, she would have had to pay EUR 10,300 altogether for the medical services and evacuation with her own money.
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