European travellers short of prescription drugs, or on waiting-lists for dental surgery at home, will be reimbursed for care anywhere in the EU by late 2013, under a law approved by European Union parliament.
It states that if there is an undue delay in receiving hospital or dental treatment, an EU citizen can seek that treatment abroad, pay for it and have the cost reimbursed at home.
When a hospital stay is required, the directive says health services can request prior authorization from doctors in the patient’s home country.
The prior authorization clause is intended as a safeguard against any unexpected surge in foreign patients.
There is a restricted list of possible reasons why such request would be refused, to include certain risks to the patient or the public.Patients on long waiting lists in their native countries, and those who are unable to find specialist attention, are expected to benefit from the new Directive.Currently just 1% of EU citizens seek health and dental treatment abroad, at a cost to national healthcare systems of 10 billion euros annually, and the Commission estimates that these costs will rise to no more than 30 million euros a year under the new Directive.
Liz Lynne, a Liberal Democrat MEP, commented “I think we have found the right balance between protecting national health systems and strengthening patients’ rights.”
But Ms Lynne insisted: “The new rules are not designed to encourage health or dental tourism. Patients are only entitled to reimbursement for treatment that their home health authority would normally provide – travel or hotel costs cannot be claimed back.
Under the new law, member states are to set up information centers offering patients data on treatment, providers and levels of reimbursement across the bloc.
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