When travelling abroad with the explicit purpose of receiving treatment there…
When you travel abroad with the explicit purpose of accessing healthcare, prior authorisation* from
your national health service*/ health insurance provider* back home may be required.
Whether you need prior authorisation* before travelling abroad to seek treatment, depends on
whether you exercise your right to cross-border healthcare* under the Social Security Regulations*
or under Directive 2011/24/EU* and on which type of healthcare you wish to receive. As a general rule,
you probably will need prior authorisation* when you plan to receive hospital treatment or in case of
highly specialised and expensive treatment abroad.
If you wish to receive cross-border healthcare* under the Social Security Regulations*
authorisation* from your national health service*/health insurance provider* is always required - both
for inpatient* and outpatient* treatment. When your request for prior authorisation is granted, your
national health service*/health insurance provider* will issue you with a S2 form*, that you will have
to present to your treating healthcare provider abroad as proof of your social security coverage.
Generally under Directive 2011/24/EU*, prior authorisation* from your national health service*/
health insurance provider* is not required. However, for some treatments the EU legislator has given
the Member States the possibility to install a system of prior authorisation*. In any case, prior
authorisation* may only be required in case of:
• Healthcare involving an overnight hospital stay
• Healthcare involving highly specialised and cost-intensive medical infrastructure or equipment
• Healthcare presenting a risk for the patient’s own safety (patient safety risk*) or that of the
general population (general population safety risk*)
• Healthcare provided by a healthcare provider that, on a case-by-case basis, could give rise to
serious and specific concerns relating to the quality and safety of the care
If you wish to receive more detailed information on which particular treatment r
authorisation*, please contact your national health service*/ health insurance provider* or National
Contact Point* at home for more information.
NOTE: when required, never receive treatment abroad without the prior authorisation* of your
national health service*/ health insurance provider*. If you have received treatment abroad without
the required prior authorisation* from your national health service*/ health insurance provider*,
possibility exists that your claims for reimbursement* will be declined. As a result, you may have to
bear all medical costs incurred abroad yourself.
When you wish to receive treatment under the Social Security Regulations (EC) 883/2004 and
987/2009* the requirement of a referral will depend on whether or not a system of referral is in place
in the country of treatment*. When this is indeed the case, referral from your GP* at home or a GP*
in the country of treatment* may be needed in order to be able to access specialised healthcare in the
country concerned.
When you, however, seek treatment abroad under Directive 2011/24/EU* the requirement of a referral
will depend on whether or not a system of referral for accessing specialised treatment is in place in
your home country*. When such referral is not required to access healthcare in your home country* it
will also not be required to obtain a referral from your GP* before accessing specialised treatment
abroad.
Contact your national health service*/ health insurance provider* and National Contact Point* at
home for more information. The National Contact Point of the country where you wish to receive
treatment can provide you with more information on whether or not a system of referral is in place in