travel insurance vacationtions to the uk?
chamberlainfan365 asked:
if a person goes to the UK on vacation and they have travel insutance and they have an accident while in the UK and they need emergency treatment from a hospital will that person who is not a UK national have to pay for medical treatment while in the hospital or would they get medical treatment free as part of the NHS (I know most Americans think its evil beyond words) or would they have to pay and claim off the travel insurance when they got home. How does the NHS work when it comes to holiday makers when they come to the UK?
Thomas
if a person goes to the UK on vacation and they have travel insutance and they have an accident while in the UK and they need emergency treatment from a hospital will that person who is not a UK national have to pay for medical treatment while in the hospital or would they get medical treatment free as part of the NHS (I know most Americans think its evil beyond words) or would they have to pay and claim off the travel insurance when they got home. How does the NHS work when it comes to holiday makers when they come to the UK?
Thomas
March 28th, 2010 at 4:58 pm
Vicki
Technically you should have insurance which will cover you for your visit to A&E. You will be asked for the details of cover if you are (and they will notice the accent) unable to tell them a UK doctor with whom you are registered. A claim will be made on your insurance.
Truth is you wont be refused treatment. If it is a true emergency we do not check first to see if you are insured before giving you life saving treatment or pain relief.
Our doctors prefer to save lives than to make a profit. However medical insurance for holiday cover to the Uk will cost you less than $10 and will give you the cover of an air ambulance home too if needed.
If you do not take out cover, your Embassy will have to sort things out for you which would mean that they would pay and recover the costs later from you.
Even though I am entitled to free treatment in the EEC because of their health systems (UK is not the only country with a health service- far from it) I still take out cover for the repatriation side of things. I would hate to be left in a foreign land away from my family, for such a low premium0
March 29th, 2010 at 10:56 am
Nathaniel
It’s a bit more complicated if you’re american. If you are from another European country that also has universal health care (most of them) it’s just free basically.
Whatever happens, it is highly unlikely that care would be denied on grounds of funding, but someonewould start asking questions at some point. Just take out travel insurance to be safe.