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Other treatments abroad for public patients in the EU
Covered by your country's public health service under the Cross Border Directive.
If your operation is not on our list, this route may still work for you: we check your treatment in three ways before we propose anything.
Your treatment without the public wait, if it passes our three checks: 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 schemeWaiting times differ from country to country and from treatment to treatment, so we look at the wait and the rules for your own case with you.
Your own public health service's published waiting times; no single European figure is quoted here
Your treatment 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 your treatment.
Fill in the Consent Form
You · about 15 minutes
Your details and documents, uploaded securely. We need your referral letter, or a letter showing you are on a public waiting list, to confirm that the public system in your country provides your treatment.
We determine your eligibility
Ablement · within 1 to 2 working days
We check your treatment against the three rules and your country's own rules, and you get a clear yes or no.
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 treatment, 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. Whether you stay a night in hospital depends on your treatment and your surgeon; the hospital's written plan says how long you will be away.
Your treatment abroad
The hospital
You have a consultation with the surgeon before the treatment, by video before you travel or in person at the hospital, as your country's rules and the hospital allow. Then you have your treatment 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 treatment at home.
One contact person, from the first conversation to the refund.
Easy to reach at every step. A family member can join every call.
What your treatment costs you
Our service
Nothing. The hospital that treats you pays us a referral fee.
The hospital
One fixed price for your treatment, 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 the same treatment costs in the public system at home, under your country's own rules.
The detail
If your treatment passes our checks, your country's public health service pays back the cost up to what the same treatment costs in the public system at home, under its own rules. The refund comes after the treatment, into your own account, and as a rule it does not cover flights, accommodation or a companion. Some countries ask for permission in advance, called prior authorisation, especially for a night in hospital or costly equipment; we check your country's rule with you on the call. The hospital's price is fixed in writing before you accept; if no hospital quotes a price the refund covers, we show you in writing how big the gap is and leave the choice to you.
What is paid back, and when
Find out in one free call if your treatment in another EU country can work for you
Kaare Beck-Fischer, Chief Executive Officer
No commitment and no documents needed.
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How we check your treatment
It must be provided publicly in your country, your country must have a rate for it, and a private hospital in another EU country must quote a fixed written price the refund covers. If it passes all three, we handle the rest, and our service costs you nothing.
Questions about other treatments
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 pageWhich treatments can be paid back?
As a general rule, any planned treatment that the public system in your country provides at home can be claimed under the Cross Border Directive. Each one still has to pass the three checks in your own case. We arrange planned operations only.
What if my treatment fails one of the checks?
We tell you plainly which check it failed and why. If the treatment is not provided publicly in your country or has no rate we can find, this route cannot work, and we delete what you gave us. If only the price is the problem, we show you in writing how far the best price is above the refund, and you decide whether to go ahead.
What is never covered?
Treatment your public system would not provide at home. Organ transplants, long-term nursing care and public vaccination programmes are also outside the scheme, and emergency care while you are abroad is a matter for the European Health Insurance Card. We arrange planned operations only; we do not arrange emergency care, dental care or physiotherapy.
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. 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
One free call, by video or phone. No commitment and no documents.
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