Carte Vitale
The Carte Vitale is the health insurance card of the national health care system in France. It was introduced in 1998 to allow a direct settlement with the medical arm of thesocial insurance system. The declaration of a primary health insurance company (Caisse primaire d'assurance maladie) substitutes the card usage.
Since 2008, a second generation of smart cards is being introduced - the "Carte Vitale 2" carries a picture for identification and the smart card has additional functions of an electronic health insurance card to carry electronic documents of the treatment process. The first generation had been a family card carrying the names of all family members thereby simply declaring they are covered by the French social security health care while non-residents would need to use the European Health Insurance Card to prove their health insurance status
European Health Insurance Card
What is the European Health Insurance Card?
A free card that gives you access to medically necessary, state-provided healthcare during a temporary stay in any of the 28 EU countries, Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, under the same conditions and at the same cost (free in some countries) as people insured in that country.
Cards are issued by your national health insurance provider.
Important – the European Health Insurance Card:
- is not an alternative to travel insurance. It does not cover any private healthcare or costs such as a return flight to your home country or lost/stolen property,
- does not cover your costs if you are travelling for the express purpose ofobtaining medical treatment,
- does not guarantee free services. As each country’s healthcare system is different services that cost nothing at home might not be free in another country.
Please note: when you move your habitual residence to another country, you should register with the S1 form instead of using the EHIC to receive medical care in your new country of habitual residence.
The European Health Insurance Card (or EHIC) is issued free of charge and allows anyone who is insured by or covered by a statutory social security scheme of the EEAcountries and Switzerland to receive medical treatment in another member state free or at a reduced cost, if that treatment becomes necessary during their visit (for example, due to illness or an accident), or if they have a chronic pre-existing condition which requires care such as kidney dialysis. The term of validity of the card varies according to the issuing country.
The intention of the scheme is to allow people to continue their stay in a country without having to return home for medical care; as such, it does not cover people who have visited a country for the purpose of obtaining medical care, nor does it cover care, such as many types of dental treatment, which can be delayed until the individual returns to his or her home country.
It only covers healthcare which is normally covered by a statutory health care system in the visited country, so it does not render travel insurance obsolete.
The card was phased in from 1 June 2004 and throughout 2005, becoming the sole healthcare entitlement document on 1 January 2006. The card is applicable in all Frenchoverseas departments (Martinique, Guadeloupe, Réunion and French Guiana) as they are part of the EEA, but not non-EEA dependent territories such as Jersey, the Isle of Man, Aruba or French Polynesia.However, there are agreements for the use of the EHIC in the Faroe Islands and Greenland, even though they are not in the EEA.
The reason for the existence of this card, is that the right to health care in Europe is based on the country of legal residence, not the country of citizenship. Therefore, a passport is not enough to receive health care. It is however possible that a photo ID document is asked for, since the European Health Insurance Card does not contain a photo.
In some cases, even if a person is covered by the health insurance of an EU country, one is not eligible for a European Health Insurance Card. For instance, in Romania, a person who is currently insured has to have been insured for the previous five years to be eligible.
It replaced the following medical forms:
- E110 - For international road hauliers
- E111 - For tourists
- E119 - For unemployed people/job seekers
- E128 - For students and workers in another member state
Contents
- 1Third party application processors
- 2Participating countries
- 3Controversy
- 4See also
- 5References
- 6External links
Third party application processors
European Health Insurance cards are provided free to all citizens of participating countries. There are however various businesses who act as non-official agents on behalf of individuals, arranging supply of the cards in return for payment, often offering additional services such as the checking of applications for errors and general advice or assistance. This has proved extremely controversial. In 2010 the British government moved against companies that invited people to pay for the free EHIC, falsely implying that through payment the applicant could speed up the process.Despite this, the practice continues.
Participating countries
As of 2013, 32 countries in Europe participate: the member states of the European Economic Area (EEA) plus Switzerland. This coincides with the 28 member states of the European Union (EU) and 4 member states of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA).
The Channel Islands and Isle of Man do not supply coverage under the EHIC, and their residents are not eligible for EHICs.
Controversy
In August 2015 the ran a story about abuse of the EHIC system in which a card was issued to its undercover Hungarian reporter who “obtained the card after visiting the UK for less than one day” after another journalist posed as her landlord and presented a GP with the tenancy agreement of a property that neither occupied in order to get an NHS number. It claimed that "foreigners were charging the NHS for care in their own country." As The Guardian pointed out, the NHS issued a card to an individual that wasn’t eligible to receive the card because a GP was duped into issuing an NHS number, and it was unclear what benefit would accrue as a result
Italian health insurance card
The Italian Health Insurance Card is a personal card which has replaced the Italian fiscal code card for all citizens entitled to benefits of the Italian National Health Service and fitted with tax code. Its rear side acts as a European Health Insurance Card. The Italian Health Insurance Card was issued for Italian citizens by the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance in cooperation with the Italian Agency of Revenue in accordance with Article 50 of dl 269/2003, converted, with amendments, by law 326/2003. The objective of the Italian Health Insurance Card is to improve the social security services through expenditure control and performance, and to optimize the use health services to citizens.
Contents
- 1Features
- 2Pharmaceutical expenses
- 3Exceptions
- 4External links
Features[edit]
- It contains biographical data and welfare information
- It contains the tax code on magnetic band format as well as barcode
- It is valid throughout Italy
- It grants the holder the right to obtain health services throughout the European Union
- Replaces the paper version, E111
- It is valid for six years
The material consists of a plastic card with identical size and consistency to a typical ATM card. The cards are printed on the front with the tax code, expiration date and biographical data. The front of the card also includes Braille characters for the blind. On the back of the card is the tax code barcodes, the magnetic strip, and the words, Tessera europea di assicurazione malattia, meaning "European health insurance card".
Pharmaceutical expenses
From January 1, 2008 legislation came into force imposing an obligation to issue the "scontrino fiscale parlante" for the certification of medicines to be used for deducting expenses. The receipt shows the amount and type of drugs purchased, in addition to the tax code reviews. To purchase medicine, it is necessary to supply your health insurance card or your Italian fiscal code card.
For information on the Italian health card, or Tessera sanitaria in Italian, you can call the following number, from within Italy, free of charge: 800 030 070
Exceptions
The CRS-SISS is found in the Lombardy region of Italy. The people of the region of Lombardy may be in possession of a document, called the (CRS-SISS), which has, in addition to a magnetic stripe, a smart chip to facilitate making payments in the form of a cash card (subject to an individual's request for activation). The CRS-SISS differs aesthetically from the national health insurance cards in regards to colors (shades of yellow / orange), it utilizes different graphics, different arrangement of text, and the absence of the three characters in Braille to 6 points for the blind. Through special card reader, you can use the CRS-SISS to access online services provided by government. The CRS-SISS replaces the full health insurance card.
