Cost Question.

[powerdesal]

Anyone got an idea of how big a bill I will be faced with for 3 nights in Avranche Hospital following an emergency admittance, including ECG, X Rays, blood tests etc.?

[LEO]

Good luck mate!

Kind regards,

Leo, St Sever 14380

[idun]

http://www.ch-aix.fr/public/Prix%20journee%20juin%2009.pdf

This might give you an idea.

Five years ago I was in A&E and ended up spending 10 days in hospital. No ECG but I had ultrasound, cat scans and blood testing during the first day and then 10 days more or less using a bed unnecessarily and hardly anything else done to me. The cost was approx 7000€.

[woolybanana]

Hope it all goes well PD.

[powerdesal]

So a couple of grand or so should cover it?

No real problem, HMG should refund it eventually as Mrs PD is a fully fledged UK resident with an EHIC.

[idun]

Well unless she had health insurance there will be some of it to pay. There'll only reimburse part of it and it might take a while.

 

Wish her well.

[powerdesal]

Could you expand on that Idun please

[LEO]

Hi, powerdesal,

I live 25minutes from Avranches hospital , give me a shout if you need "ought"!

[Chancer]

If it was an emergency admittance on an EHIC you will have practically nothing to pay, I am assuming that they took the card details on admission. It should all be 100% prise en charge including the ambulance.

You will have to pay the forfait journalier, around €16 per day when I spent a lot of time in hospital, this is not remboursable, and also any subsequent out patient appointments and treatments which will be either 65% o 80% prise en charge dependant on your situation so you will pay soemething like €6.60 per consultation plus the percentage for any minor acts that they carry out, removing stitches, X-rays, laser treatment etc.

Not worth breaking into a sweat over.

[powerdesal]

Thanks Leo and thanks Chancer,

It was not an ambulance admittance, I drove to the Urgences Dept (radar speed trap on the way - do I care??), They took the EHIC card details on admittance (photpocopy) so It probably meets the terms that you quote Chancer. I dont really care how much it actually costs, but I was curious.

155 Kms in a 130 Km limit ? how much is that ?

[AnOther]

I thought your home was in France ?

[idun]

Depending on the nature of the health issue in France a percentage of the full cost of the health care is reimbursed by the state, they can reimburse up to a 100%. As was said there is the forfait jounaliere and that is 16€ a day and that is the amount that is charged for, I suppose, 'living in the hospital'. Mutalists reimburse this as would travel insurance.   

On an EHIC your wife will get exactly the same reimbursement as a french person.

EG The state paid about 55% of all my costs and my mutalist made up the rest.

[powerdesal]

[quote user="AnOther"]

I thought your home was in France ?

[/quote]

Not resident yet, still a holiday home.

[Russethouse]

 How is Mrs PD ?

[Pommier]

I reckon that your speeding fine could well be the higher bill!

When my husband was admitted as an emergency,he was mostly covered 100%, just the odd X ray etc which wasn't, plus the daily 'bed & board' charge.

Hope that your wife is better now.

[Gardengirl]

I was taken to hospital in an emergency. No charge for the pompiers, but 30% of costs of x-rays, stitches etc was asked for a few months afterwards by the hospital by post, having used my EHIC. The nurse who attended at my home every two days afterwards was paid separately. Both costs were reclaimed on my travel insurance later.

[powerdesal]

Mrs PD now out on Monday morning, on medication and still a bit wobbly.

The daily accommodation rate now appears to be E 18 per day ( charged for 4 days although only 3 nights !!!!). Total bill was c Euro 550. We will see how the reclaim works, if at all.

[mint]

Steve, I am so glad that Mrs PD is now OK.

[Gardengirl]

It's good to hear she's home, even if still a bit wobbly! [:)]

[Chancer]

[quote user="powerdesal"]Mrs PD now out on Monday morning, on medication and still a bit wobbly. The daily accommodation rate now appears to be E 18 per day ( charged for 4 days although only 3 nights !!!!). Total bill was c Euro 550. We will see how the reclaim works, if at all.[/quote]

If you are likely to be returning for any further treatment and if you have previously claimed remboursements to your French bank account then you will already have a French social security number, armed with this you should be able to persuade them to be paid directly by assurance maladie for the portion that is prise en charge and to  bill you only for the percentage remaining .

Its swings and roundabouts and works out even in the end but avoids you having to shell out 100% immediately and wait up to a couple of months for remboursement.

It is worth mentioning the next time you are there for a follow up contrôle as once its done you will be sorted until the expiry of your EHIC whereupon you go through the same procedure, I hope that neither of you are taken away again in an ambulance but it would be one less thing to concern yourselves with if the worst happens.

It was the loacl ambulance company that put me on to this, the receptionist off her own bat suggested doing it with their bill.

[powerdesal]

Further to Mrs PD's medical problem, returned to UK following discharge from Avranche Hospital and went to local GP (Abingdon), or at least attempted to, a 3 week delay was given for the first appointment to see our Doctor.

Saw a different Doctor and medication was changed, (Avranche had written to the UK surgery). The Local GP spoke to a consultant to arrange further tests - test date 5 weeks later !!! ( this is a heart problem).

Subsequently ( a few days ) emergency admittance to the John Radcliffe at Oxford. Resus dept were terrific, lots of ECG's showing the problem, then to a ward - the GERIATRIC ward !!! first doctor seen after 9 hrs 45 on a trolley, said ECG was ''not exciting'', it transpires they had ''misplaced the relevent ECG traces between resus and the ward. Monitor was switched off (they didn't want the noise disturbing patients ?) and when it was pointed out that routine medication was overdue (2100 hrs) the only comment was...' well didn't you bring it with you?, we cant give you any.' Similarly the routine medication was missed at 0900 next day (still on trolley). The Cardio consultant said he didn't see the need to see the patient and ''let the Medics handle her''

An appalling experience which made Mrs PD say she would, in the future, do ANYTHING to avoid being hospitalised in the JR again.

Given that the next test appointment is mid May and things appeared to be stable we came back to France to continue our holiday. 4 DAYS in France and BINGO - back in Avranche Hospital, same problem.

There we stand at the moment. Changes of medication are ongoing and In'sAllah Mrs PD will be released into ''the wild'' tomorrow - or not!!

I blame the French air !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[woolybanana]

Is there a link to your retirement?[6]

[idun]

I can go one better than that when hospitalised in France, in the corridor from around 9am, took me for an MRI around 21h and then back to the corridor and waited until nearly midnight to go into a side ward.

Caught a cold and bad cough, nothing in hospital to treat that.

 

I hate hospitals, I don't trust them.

When I went in later for more tests,  the anasthesist  asked what was up  and I said that I thought he was going to kill me. He thought this was amusing and then realised that I was not kidding. I actually believed that I wouldn't wake up as they had hurt me so much earlier in the year. I was actually surprised when I woke up.

[powerdesal]

[quote user="woolybanana"]Is there a link to your retirement?[6][/quote]

You may wish to expand on that remark Wooly !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[woolybanana]

Hehehehehehehehe[6][:D][:D]