Brexit

[LesleyGreengran]

I've been thinking that if we leave the EU I will no longer have the backup of my EHIC card so won't be able to go to the places I'd planned to visit when my chemo ends. Also some good health research has been done through European collaboration. Sorry to sound political but this is bothering me. There are lots of lovely places to go here' We spend most hols in Scotland and Northumberland, but never to see Paris again or the Sierra Nevada in Spain as well as the beautiful Southern Spanish cities like Seville and Grenada and Córdoba would be such a shame. I expect there will be some reciprocal health arrangements but I don't know bow soon they'll be sorted out.

[Whippit]

Hi Lesley

That's an interesting thought. I guess we'd have to get holiday insurance for Europe as well as the rest of the world. I've got holiday insurance with my bank account so don't have to worry about renewing or creating a new insurance policy every time I nip abroad.

Brexit is certainly a step into the unknown but then staying in seems to be as well as who knows whether Europe will survive the influx of immigrants and economic disasters in so many of the states.

No harm in having a chat about how things affect us outside our immediate experience of cancer. In fact it probably does some of us good to think about other things.

My French pen friend and his family are coming over next Friday and Saturday. I can't wait to have a chat with them and hear what they have to think of the UK leaving Europe.

xx Annie

[ValB2]

Very good point Lesley.

[Hidden]

Hello, I travel a lot,both long and short term and always take ehic card but always just alongside medical /insurance cover and have experience of both.

The NHS card doesn't come close! IMHO never go without private medical cover.

[LesleyGreengran]

Thanks but I couldn't afford it. I did look into it all and decided to take the risk. I would get it if I travelled outside the EU but that would be a major expedition so worth the expense.

[Hidden]

HI Leslie well that is certainly something to think about. Popping across to London is inviting but if you are not covered then it is a problem. I imagine since your pensioners are covered here anyway in Ireland, that is not going to change. As regards travel to Europe, some of us here feel that sometimes taking out insurance is more costly than a flight back. In addition, there are departures every day to and from Europe so getting home if you got ill is easy enough. On that basis some dont bother with insurance when travelling to France and Spain.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

That assumes they're fit to travel.

What happens if there's a car accident or, as happened twice to my father, a stroke?

I wouldn't risk it.

[LesleyGreengran in reply to Hidden]

Thanks I assume Ireland and the UK will have the usual reciprocal arrangements. I hope so as I have a family do there in July!

[Lily-Anne]

Personally I wouldn't worry too much. I did think this at first, I'm very into politics, it's the journalist in me. We travel to the Canaries a lot, and to visit friends in France. When I broke my arm I still had to pay up front before they would treat me. If I wanted to use my E111 I had to pay for an interpreter because that isn't covered, and there was no promise of a time when they would arrive. In Dublin I had to pay a fee to be treated at the public hospital regardless of cover too. So I'm not sure it works so well anyway.

It s likely there will be cover provided by the NHS even with us not being part of the EU, as there are non-EU countries that are covered now. Usually agreements are with countries who would like an agreement for their citizens travelling here.

I think there is a lot of argument for both sides of this, but because we have been in the EU for so long, I don't remember us not, there is a little fear of the unknown. It would be in the PM's best interests to be specific about the things the person on the street is worried about, not just pandering to the traders.

LA xx

[TinaB1]

The card isn't so much of an insurance as many think. Xx

[Hidden in reply to TinaB1]

I understand this very much depends on which country you're in, with Spain reportedly sometimes a problem.

No-one I know has had any difficulty getting medical care with it - in at least some countries, up to now.

I guess the more individual member countries feel they can flex the rules to suit themselves, whether formally in negotiation as Cameron has been doing, or as others are doing in relation to Schengen and borders, just two examples, the more we may anticipate variation on this front too.

[Catspelle]

I always have both my card & travel insurance. There are too many risks just to rely on the card especially for pre existing illnesses x

[LesleyGreengran]

I'm in a U3A Spanish group so I know a few people who travel there very frequently, they're learning cos they have places in Spain. They've been asked to pay up front before they are treated even though they can claim it back. I carry an empty credit card when I go. It depends on your attitude to risk. I'm convinced we'll be coming out because the media seems so biased, especially against immigration. Where would the NHS be without them? We'll come out, people will realise what they've done, and it'll be too late without years of negotiation.

[TinaB1 in reply to LesleyGreengran]

Hi there .. I wondered where your favourite place in Spain is? Xx

[LesleyGreengran]

That's so hard ! Changes every time I go. Though Grazalema, last place we stayed in, is beautiful. Surrounded by limestone scenery and I took a photo of a lizard orchid - incredible. Lots of wildlife, butterflies flowers birds. The village had just enough shops and cafes and though it's a bit touristy there's not many Brits. The previous place we stayed in had been nicknamed Coronation Street by the locals though that was beautiful too (Valor). We tend to go for the hills with a few days on the coast.

[TinaB1]

Incidentally, there's an app to download which outlines what to do in specific countries and guidance about prescriptions, dental fees, ambulance numbers and procedures. Also, some wording in other languages to get the right paperwork.

ec.europa.eu/social/main.js...

Xx