The EHIC card offers the citizens of the European residents to take care of their health and get medical facilities while they are travelling within European Economic Area. If you are a European citizen and face an emergency situation in another part of the continent then you can show your E111 renewal and claim for medical benefits which are free of cost and you can also claim money from the NHS.
Changes in the rule
We often heard the names E111 and EHIC and take it as two different entities but it is the same. The health insurance card which is provided by the European government is generally termed as European health Insurance card from 1st January 2006 onwards and before it, the health card was called E111. There were certain amendments made in the rules concerning the European Health Insurance Card and the new rules demonstrate that one needs to pay a certain amount while they are travelling to any EEA country.
It is to be noted that a person is not liable to claim for any kind of refund from the UK government. The citizens are required to carry this insurance card whenever they plan a tour as they can secure their health with this card.
Are you carrying a valid card?
Let’s give you an instance, suppose you are travelling to a European country and get stuck by an emergency and you immediately show your cards to the hospital authorities but it gets rejected. The reason for this rejection is that your card is expired. A person has to understand the importance of this health card and need to keep a check on its validity period.
The health insurance cards are to be renewed before six months of its expiry date. An EHIC is valid for five years. One needs to ensure that the E111 renewal procedures must commence prior to six months otherwise they might face problems while travelling. Before you start your packing for a holiday you have to ensure whether you have the new card with you or not.
Applying for the renewal
The process of renewing your health cards is a quite easy process. If you want to renew your health cards then follow the below-mentioned procedures:
- Go to the official site of EHIC
- Fill up the form with your personal details
- Enter the pin code that is given in your EHIC cards
- Add the detail of your family members who are applying for the same
You can renew your cards by following the above-mentioned steps. However, if you have an old card then you cannot find the pin and in such cases, you have to apply for a new card instead of filling application for the renewal. Each of the family members needs to have a separate card and while filling up the form you need to mention their details.
Therefore it can be concluded that one needs to renew their health cards for enjoying medical benefits while travelling to a European country. The renewal form is to be filled up before it expires otherwise none of the medical benefits will be enjoyed by the citizens.
