REIMBURSEMENT OF TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATION AND SUBSISTENCE COSTS

When a patient travels to another Member State to receive treatment there, he necessarily incurs travel costs and, in some cases, accommodation and subsistence costs. The issue has thus arisen of whether the patient's health insurance fund must also reimburse those costs.

A patient who is authorised by his health insurance fund to travel to another Member State to receive treatment there under the 1971 Regulation (or the 2004 and 2009 Regulations) cannot claim the reimbursement of his travel costs or, in the case of outpatient treatment, of his accommodation and subsistence costs. On the other hand, in respect of scheduled hospital treatment, the accommodation and subsistence costs will be reimbursed. The obligation to reimburse covers exclusively the expenses linked to the healthcare treatment received by the patient in the Member State of treatment (15 June 2006, Herrera, C-466/04).

The same applies where the authorisation is granted by virtue of the freedom to provide services (the 2011 Directive). However, if the travel, accommodation and subsistence costs are covered by the patient's health insurance fund for treatments provided within national territory, those costs must then be reimbursed when the patient travels to another Member State to receive treatment there (16 May 2006, Watts, C-372/04).

The Member States are at liberty in all cases (whether under the regulations or the directive) to reimburse travel, accommodation and subsistence costs if they choose to do so.