A similar situation for us David.
The surgeon explained that 600 euros was a standard charge (14 days) but the why was difficult for us to understand.
We thought it was a small price to pay, for the positive outcome.
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I agree with your point but who has failed to provide details? I thought this was simply an issue of pre existing conditions being excluded.
I agree, were it not for the totally unexpected cost (because we were told there was none) from the preceeding care home stay which we thought was hospital charge because thatās where the bill came from, and because of that our local pharmacist phoned the hospital who put her straight on the origin of the cost and added āthe hospital stay is completely without chargeā.
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Yes, at least the surgeon told us in advance.
I do find ALD confusing, paying for incidentals always catch us out 
Let me clarify the thinking behind my post @b33jay.
1 - Aggressive selling.
In 2022 airlines based in the UK uplifted 106M*passengers. I suspect all of them sell travel insurance, but letās just take the top three, which definitely do when a ticket is purchased. That means Easyjet tried to flog it 33 million times, BA 30 million times and Jet2 15 million times. Thatās a total of 78 million attempts. Turning to Ryanair, they carried 160 million passengers in Europe in 2022 and they push travel insurance hard too. So that was 160 million further attempts to flog it. So, taking just four carriers into account, travel insurance was pushed 238 million times last year. The real number is probably double or triple that. I think that thatās aggressive selling by any measure, donāt you?
The reason for this aggressive selling spills over into my next point,
2 - Is Travel Insurance a scam?
The travel insurance industryās dirty little secret is that on average for every ā¬100 you spend on insurance ā¬77 (in extreme cases ā¬99) goes on commission. This only leaves ā¬23 for the insurer to honour claims and make a profit. In fact, on average only ā¬14 is paid out on claims. So, IMO aggressive selling and aggressive claims rejection is the travel insurance industryās business model. For me that makes it a scam. It is, at the very least, appalling value for money.
3 - Full disclosure.
I think most people are fully aware that if they take out home or car insurance that they need to be frank and open with the insurers about anything that could affect the risk, if I remember correctly, the application forms make that obvious. People read such policies and are aware of the T&Cs. However, If one clicks on a ābuyā button on an airline website less so. Some long document** is emailed to you which IMO you are more likely to ignore than scrutinise.
I think the travel insurers are counting on that. For me to fully disclose pre-existing conditions Iād need to email them an A4 page 
, which even if one could find out how to do so would probably result in a ping-pong of emails that would totally negate the āconvenienceā of online purchase in the first place. Travel insurers need to be far more upfront about what information they need and provide a simple way to provide it.
Luckily all this has been noted by the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority. Here are two links to them, the first is short and well worth a read.
Hopefully the EIOPA will get its act together and the scam artists days of ripping travellers off are numbered 
Four page finding summary.
thematic_review_-travel-insurance-factsheet.pdf (548.5 KB)
Full Report.
eiopa_thematic_review_travel_insurance_oct2019.pdf (1.4 MB)
*Source https://www.statista.com/
**Ryanair 26 page T&Cs. https://www.ryanair.com/doc/insurance/policy-cz.pdf
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@ John-Scully
I donāt use airlines so have no interest in the LoCo operators.
I donāt buy ferry operatorsā travel cover.
All my insurances are selected after careful consideration and understanding of the t&c
My only insurance claims have been for damage to two cars caused by third parties and one for self-inflicted damage all of which were settled amicably and satisfactorily.
Hello @b33jay
Thanks for your interest but I really donāt think that your additions, while potentially interesting, are relevant to this thread.
Perhaps you should consider starting your own thread on (travel) insurance rather than posting on this one which is about hospital costs?
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Well done you, if only everybody was so diligent. All Iām doing is pointing out that when it comes to travel insurance itās buyer beware.
On a slightly different tack, in the opposite direction, Iāve been led to believe that as a UK citizen who is a French resident and has an Article 50 Titre de SĆ©jour, I am entitled to use the NHS when I am in the UK as a right negotiated in the Brexit withdrawal agreement. I do however have a French issued Carte EuropĆ©enne Dāassurance Maladie card for use in the EU. However, if I do need medical treatment in the UK, is the entitlement done through the card or is it an automatic right that I can use by just quoting my NHS number ?
The GP surgery at which I was registered when I was a UK resident told me that my NHS number would be all they needed to treat me. I havenāt had cause to put it to the test though.
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Well, if someoneās visiting UK in the near futureā¦ perhaps they can āput it to the testā if only to ask the question at a clinic/hospitalā¦
would be nice to know how things workā¦ before one falls ill while visiting UKā¦ 
Iāve got my NHS number (hurrah)
and my UK issued European Card, which clearly says it does NOT entitle the holder to treatment in the UK (Booā¦)
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That is now invalid because the UK is your competent state. You need to get a UK card which is valid in all EU countries.
Pretty sure that is not entirely correct. I am a UK citizen French resident and I have a CEAM to use everywhere in the EU plus other states, including the UK.
I think it depends not on nationality but whether or not you are on an S1 or, like me, totally in the French system as a French pensioner who worked here.
This is the one. I had to get a GHIC because I have an S1.
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Sorry David that has changed, your CEAM is no longer valid.
āYou may be eligible for a new UK EHIC if you meet 1 of the following criteria:
- youāre living in the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, or Liechtenstein, and have been since before 1 January 2021 with a registered S1, E121, E106 or E109 form issued by the UKā
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I donāt have an S1 as Iām not of retirement age, although I am retired.
Not me then, as I donāt have any of those.
So if you are in PUMA you get a CEAM, which you request through your Ameli account online.
Which I have. My original question was whether I actually need the CEAM I have, or whether I have a right to use the NHS as a UK citizen as of right, through the withdrawal agreement. Iām not really sure what the answer to that question is.
Nor me. I requested mine through Amelie, and got it. No problem. I was told many years ago by the NHS that I could no longer get free treatment there.
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