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European cross-border medical treatment

filfla4

Senior Member
Messages
236
Can anyone advise me whether patients in continental Europe travelling outside their own country for treatment get reimbursed by their home country? How does the system work in your country?

Advice please!

Thanks.
 

Clodomir

Where is the sun?
Messages
212
Location
Belgium
Hi,

I am belgian, i need a nurse twice a week for my b12 shots. When i go to France for holiday, i take a french nurse, i paid full price, but they gave me a bill and the prescription back. Then i give it to social security and i am reimburse.
I know that for France, an other way is asking a french social security card, so you paid like a french (nothing or nearly nothing)
Is it helping you?
For which country, do you want to know?
If it is belgium, i can ask. For an other country, i don't know...

Have a nice day

Clodomir
 

filfla4

Senior Member
Messages
236
I am Maltese living in Malta, which is a small independent country south of Sicily and a member of the EU. ME is not recognised in Malta despite Malta being a signatory to the WHO International Classification of Diseases, which defines ME as a neurological disease. Being such a small country, there are no ME specialists here and no treatment is available. The blood tests carried out by doctors are inadequate and they don't even diagnosed any co-infections.

I have personally been travelling to Brussels for the last 2.5yrs to see Prof De Meirleir at my own expense. However there are many other ME patients who cannot afford to do this and they are suffering enormously.

I am therefore trying to find out how the system for cross-border health care works in other EU countries and how, if at all, this would apply to Malta. I have had a response from the EU Citizens Advice website. It appears that there is a great anomaly:

On the one hand: "it is up to each Member State to decide which medical treatment is covered under its own law relating to social security" yet at the same time in a recent court ruling it was decided that, "the absolute discretion given to the health authorities in deciding what is or what is not available was illegal. Basically the system was criticized for not having an ascertainable list of treatments which were covered." I think there is a strong legal argument to be made.
 

Clodomir

Where is the sun?
Messages
212
Location
Belgium
Hi filfla,

ME is also a problem in belgium: nearly all my analysis ( redlab, augsburg, etc...) are on my one expenses.... Except treatment for lyme disease, and ABX.... I have to pay 4me and other supplements...
But my KDM consultation, is reimbursed.

I think it is the same in UK, the nederlands, ....

Clodomir