E111 equivalent for UK holiday?

[overmonnow]

Hello

What happens if you are French resident, tore up your NHS card, and then go back to the UK for a visit and fall ill?  Is there are E111 equivalent for going from France to the UK?

I assume E111 is a european-wide form so the question is where do I get one from?

Thanks, Emma

[Ron Avery]

Its now called the European Health Insurance Card (was E111) and you apply for your French one at CPAM.  How and what you need to get one has been covered recently so try an search of E111 or EHIC

[Will]

You don't need either E111 or EHIC to go to Britain, though you do if you plan to visit the rest of Europe which for this purpose includes Norway and a couple of other non-EU countries. The card is supplied by your health organisme conventionné, which for most people here will be your département's CPAM but if you are working here (other than salaried) it may well be something different.

[Teamedup]

Will the C, I used to tell folks that they didn't need an E111 for the UK as all the info I was given by our CPAM was quite clear that we didn't, but I wouldn't anymore.

I called the Dept of Health and spoke to Newcastle as well in 2005 to find out exactly what we needed. This is a very grey area these days and last summer according to the Dept of Health doctors can charge us and we have to get reimbursed. So as I said, I always have a card with us now just in case. We haven't been charged for the odd medical visit we have had when in the UK, but as one can never tell, I prefer to be prepared.

[Agenais]

CPAM said we needed the carte european for a uk visit and the French equivalent of the E111 for anyone who is business registered, both duly sent out very quickly.  The lady at the MPSAQ said that business owners would get the european card as well, instead of the E111 form,  as soon as they have linked into the CPAM system.

[Will]

I quite agree that for visits to Britain it is better to have an EHIC card. Many caisses (like mine) insist that it is not needed for Britain - they ask where you are going. Unless you say you are going somewhere else they will just say you don't need it. So always say that you are going to Spain, Germany or somewhere as well as Britain to make sure you get the card, if you want one.

I can see where the confusion arises. The problem is that in order to get treatment in Britain you may be asked to show proof that you are ordinarily resident in another European country. This would be in the form of a passport, identity card or driving licence. As European driving licences are valid throughout the EU, many of us won't have a French licence. Few of us will be entitled to a French passport, and the carte de sejour is no longer necessary for European citizens. So an EHIC is desirable, even if not strictly necessary.

I must admit I don't see what difference being business registered makes. The E111 is now officially dead, and the EHIC is issued on a personal basis, not a company basis. In any case, as I indicated above, I have nothing to do with CPAM, the health cover through my business is arranged through another organisation. In fact CPAM de la Manche refuses to acknowledge my existence because I am no longer on their books. [:)]