EHIC & BREXIT

The European Health Insurance Card may not be valid from the 1st of February 2021 in United-Kingdom. As everybody knows, Great Britain has decided to get out of the European Union after many years of negotiations between these two parts. in this article, we are going to see what is the EHIC and how it works, and at another time we are going to see what is going to change after the Brexit for the European Health Insurance.

EHIC: free insurance for all Europeans

The European Union was founded in 1992. The idea was to create a political union where peace and free exchanges should be and where people would be able to walk freely and peacefully. In order to do that, the EU gives multiples benefits to its residents:

  • a unique currency that allows everyone to pay without change,
  • all the residents are protected by human rights,
  • good food and environmental standards,
  • free to travel in every country on the Shengen space,
  • health insurance for European travelers.

One of the most important things is the health insurance card for Europeans who want to travel to European countries. This insurance allows all Europeans to be protected in all of the state members they visit. Concretely, firstly, this insurance is completely free and it gives health protection in case of issues during the trip. However, this insurance works as others do, it can reimburse the health expenses.

What is the future of the EHIC in the United Kingdom?

From the 1st of February 2021, the United Kingdom will no longer be part of the European Union. On the 23rd of January 2016, English people have voted for Brexit which means an exit from the European Union and all of its rules. This exit also means that the EHIC may not be useful after the implementation. For the moment, on the British government website, they advise every traveler to take insurance healthcare without mentioning EHIC.

However, all the UK pensioners who lived in the EU before the end of 2020 will be able to use the EHIC beyond the exit. It will be valid for all the UK students who started a course abroad for the back-to-school 2020-2021 period. For all the Europeans, the EHIC works perfectly until the 31st of December 2020. After this date, this insurance will not be useful. On the other hand, many subjects are still to be negotiated so, there is maybe hope for the utilization of the EHIC in the UK. In order to remind, the UK has issued more than 27 million EHIC cards over the year.

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