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Varicose vein treatment abroad for public patients in the EU
Covered by your country's public health service under the Cross Border Directive.
Varicose veins can leave your legs aching, swollen and itchy by the end of the day, and the public wait for treatment is often long.
Your varicose veins treated without the public wait: a fixed price in a private hospital in another EU country, paid back by your public health service when the treatment is for a medical reason. 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 varicose vein treatment 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 varicose vein 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 varicose vein treatment.
Fill in the Consent Form
You · about 15 minutes
Your details and documents, uploaded securely. You usually need a referral for varicose vein treatment 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 varicose vein treatment 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 varicose vein 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. Plan for a short trip: the treatment takes part of one day, and you stay nearby until the surgeon says you can fly; the hospital's written plan gives the timing.
Your treatment abroad
The hospital
You talk to your 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. Ask the surgeon before you leave what to wear and how active to be in the first weeks; your own doctor follows up from there.
One contact person, from the first conversation to the refund.
Easy to reach at every step. A family member can join every call.
What varicose vein treatment costs you
Our service
Nothing. The hospital that treats you pays us a referral fee.
The hospital
One fixed price for your varicose vein 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 varicose vein treatment costs in the public system at home, under your country's own rules.
The detail for varicose vein treatment
Your country's public health service pays back the cost up to what varicose vein treatment costs in a public hospital at home, under your country's own rules. The amount usually follows the treatment you actually have, whether laser, foam or surgery, so your proposal shows the expected refund for the treatment the surgeon proposes. Whether your country asks for permission in advance, called prior authorisation, we check with you on the call. You get the money after the treatment, into your own account; your flights, your stay and anyone who travels with you are not covered. The price is agreed in writing before you accept, and if no hospital can offer one the refund covers, we write down the difference for you and the decision stays with you.
What is paid back, and when
Find out in one free call if varicose vein treatment in another EU country can work for you
Kaare Beck-Fischer, Chief Executive Officer
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What varicose vein treatment involves
Varicose veins are surface veins in the leg whose valves no longer close, so blood pools and the veins bulge, ache and swell. The most common treatment today seals the faulty vein from the inside: under local anaesthetic, the surgeon guides a thin fibre into the vein with ultrasound and heats the vein with laser or radiofrequency so that it closes. Foam injections can seal smaller veins, and in some cases the vein is removed through small cuts instead. The surgeon decides which suits your veins.
You walk straight after the treatment and wear a compression stocking for a time. The blood finds its way back through the deep veins, which are healthy. The aim is an end to the aching and swelling and, over the following weeks, to the visible veins; new varicose veins can appear in later years.
Questions about varicose vein treatment
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 does this cover?
Varicose veins are treated by sealing the vein from the inside with heat, by foam injections, or by surgery to remove the vein. The surgeon decides which suits you. The written proposal states which treatment the price covers.
Will my public health service pay it back?
Only when the treatment is for medical reasons and your public system would provide it. Treatment for appearance alone is not paid back. We check your referral letter and your country's rules with you before anything else happens.
Can both legs be treated on one trip?
Sometimes. The surgeon decides whether both legs can be treated, and whether on the same day or a few days apart. The written proposal states which legs the price covers and when you can expect to fly home. Many public health services pay one rate for each admission, whatever is done during it, so both legs on the same day are paid as one; where they are treated a few days apart, we ask the hospital to book each leg as its own day case with its own invoice, and your proposal shows the expected refund under your country's rules before you commit.
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
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