National health insurance to pay for medical treatments in EU starting 2013

New guidelines passed by the European Union Parliament would allow Croatians to seek medical treatment in other EU member states and be reimbursed by their national health insurance should they join the Union.The new guidelines regarding cross-border health protection accepted last week by the European Parliament are expected to take effect in 2013. Patients from all EU members  will be able to receive treatment in any other member state, with their national insurance covering the cost of the procedure up to the amount that the same treatment would cost in their own country.Croatian Health Insurance Institute (HZZO) could only deny the treatment coverage only in cases when the danger of travel (to either the patient or public) outweighs its benefits. If the procedure sought is not performed in Croatia, HZZO cannot deny the coverage.According to Euractiv, to discourage "health tourism," "patients will only be reimbursed at home-country rates; so if a treatment costs more in another country the patient will have to pay the difference."Patients on long waiting lists and those suffering from rare diseases that cannot find proper treatment in their own countries will benefit most from the new guidelines.The patients would have to pay for the treatment out of their own pockets but would be then later reimbursed by HZZO.Currently, only one percent of patients seek treatment in other countries, costing the national health care systems a total of 10 billion Euros. The European Commission (EC) estimates the increase in costs under new rules would be an additional 30 million Euros a year.

Source: Croatian Times Online News