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Hip replacement abroad for public patients in the EU
Covered by your country's public health service under the Cross Border Directive.
A worn hip can make every walk, every staircase and every night's sleep harder while you wait at home.
A new hip without the public wait: a fixed price in a private hospital in another EU country, paid back by your public health service. The hospital, the surgeon, the price and your stay are in writing before you decide.
Free · no commitment · no documents · by video or phone, at a time you pick
Your right under EU law since 2011
290,000claims paid back to patients across Europe in 2024
Your rights under the schemeHow long you wait for a new hip depends on where you live: waiting times differ widely between EU countries, and between regions within a country. We look at your own wait with you.
Your own public health service's published waiting times; no single European figure is quoted here
Your hip replacement in another EU country, step by step.
Eight steps from the first conversation to your refund. You commit at step 4, not before.
Before you commit
Stop at any time, at no cost
Talk to us
You
Schedule a free call, by video or phone, at a time you pick. We check your country's rules with you and tell you how the route works for a hip replacement.
Fill in the Consent Form
You · about 15 minutes
Your details and documents, uploaded securely. You usually need a referral for a hip replacement from your own doctor, or a letter showing you are on a public waiting list for it; we tell you what your country asks for.
We determine your eligibility
Ablement · within 1 to 2 working days
You get a clear yes or no on whether you are eligible for a hip replacement in another EU country, checked against your country's rules.
We find a private hospital
Ablement · within 5 working days of a complete file
We ask the hospitals and send you one written proposal: the hospital, the surgeon, the price of your hip replacement, the dates and your expected refund.
After you commit
We stay with you to the refund
Your date is confirmed
The hospital
The hospital confirms your date in writing within 10 working days of your acceptance, and then you book your travel. Plan to be away for your nights in hospital and a few more days nearby; the hospital's written plan says how many.
Your treatment abroad
The hospital
You meet your surgeon before the operation, by video before you travel or in person at the hospital, as your country's rules and the hospital allow. You have your operation and fly home when the surgeon says you are fit to fly. You pay the hospital directly and send us the documents for your claim.
We claim your refund
Ablement · within 5 working days of your return
We send your signed claim to your public health service and follow it until you are paid. How long the decision takes depends on your country; we tell you before you decide.
Your aftercare at home
Your own doctor
Your own doctor and the public system take over, as if you had the operation at home. Ask about physiotherapy before you travel, as there can be a wait.
One contact person, from the first conversation to the refund.
Easy to reach at every step. A family member can join every call.
What a hip replacement costs you
Our service
Nothing. The hospital that treats you pays us a referral fee.
The hospital
One fixed price for your hip replacement, in writing before you commit. You pay the hospital directly, before your public health service pays you back.
Your public health service
Pays you back up to what a hip replacement costs in the public system at home, under your country's own rules.
The detail for a hip replacement
For a hip replacement, your country's public health service pays back the cost of your treatment up to what the same operation costs in the public system at home, or the hospital's invoice if that is lower, under your country's own rules. The money comes to you after the operation, into your own bank account, never to Ablement, and as a rule it does not cover flights, your hotel or a companion. Whether your country asks for permission in advance, called prior authorisation, we check with you on the call. The hospital fixes its price in writing before you accept; if no hospital offers a price the refund covers, we show you the gap in writing and the choice is yours.
What is paid back, and when
Find out in one free call if a hip replacement in another EU country can work for you
Kaare Beck-Fischer, Chief Executive Officer
No commitment and no documents needed.
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What a hip replacement involves
A hip replacement is for a hip joint worn down by arthritis, when pain and stiffness no longer respond to tablets, exercise or a walking stick. Under a general or a spinal anaesthetic, the surgeon takes out the worn ball at the top of the thigh bone and the damaged lining of the socket, and fits an artificial ball and socket in their place. The operation itself usually takes an hour or two.
You are helped up and walking with support soon after the operation, and physiotherapy starts in hospital and carries on at home. The aim is a hip that no longer hurts, with easier walking, stairs and sleep; most people feel the difference within weeks, and recovery continues for months. An artificial hip lasts many years.
Questions about a hip replacement
Short answers to what people ask us most. Open a question to read the answer.
All frequently asked questionsYour question isn't here?
Ask us in the chat Or send us a message from the Contact pageHow long will I be away for a hip replacement?
It depends on the hospital and on how you recover: some nights in hospital, followed by a few more days near the hospital until the surgeon says you can fly. The surgeon makes that decision for you alone. The hospital's plan for your stay is in the written proposal you receive before you accept. Book flights you can change.
What about rehabilitation at home?
You bring home the hospital's discharge report and its exercise plan for your new hip. From then on your own doctor looks after you, and you are entitled to the same follow-up in your public system as if you had been treated at home. Speak to your doctor about physiotherapy before you travel, because it can involve a wait.
Can I have both hips done?
That is for the surgeon to decide, together with you. If both hips are affected, tell us at the start, and we ask the hospital whether it would operate on one side or both and what each option would cost. You get its answer, with the expected refund under your country's rules, in writing before you decide anything.
Will I lose my place on the waiting list at home?
No. The Cross Border Directive does not ask you to leave a waiting list to use it, and you stay on it until you have been treated. Once your operation is done abroad, you let your hospital at home know, so it can take you off the list. If you change your mind before then, nothing has changed at home.
Do I have to pay up front?
Yes. You pay the hospital directly, and your public health service pays you back afterwards; how long that takes depends on your country, and we tell you before you decide. Some people use savings or help from their family. We do not lend money or arrange loans, and no money of yours passes through us.
Is it safe, and what if something goes wrong?
You see the hospital and the surgeon's name in writing before you decide anything, and you have a consultation with the surgeon before the operation, by video or in person as your country's rules require. Every hospital we work with must be registered with its country's health authorities, use surgeons who specialise in the operation, give its price and its terms on complications in writing, and give you an English-speaking contact person. The hospital that treats you is responsible for your care, and it must have a complaints procedure. We help you deal with the hospital, and at home your own doctor takes over as after any operation.
Why is your help free? What's the catch?
There is no catch. The hospital that treats you pays us a referral fee; you never pay us anything, and the hospital's price is fixed in writing before you accept. You can stop at any time before you sign with the hospital.
Will my health service really pay me back?
The Cross Border Directive is EU law, and 290,000 claims were paid back across Europe in 2024 alone. The refund is yours when your country's rules are met: usually a referral, any permission your country asks for in advance, the itemised invoice and your receipt. We check your country's rules with you before you pay anything, and we prepare the claim with you.
Can a family member come with me, or join the calls?
Yes. A family member can join every call and meeting, be named on your Consent Form and travel with you. Their travel and hotel are your own cost.
Find out if this route can work for you
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