EHIC – the European Health Insurance Card – has barely been mentioned during the raging debate on whether or not the UK should stay part of the European Union. Whatever your personal opinion on the matter, it seems that the referendum result will be a close run thing, and this leaves many travellers unsure of where they stand accessing state medical care for their summer breaks in the Mediterranean resorts this July and August. There are of course no real answers on this, but we can probably predict what will happen given either outcome – remain, or Brexit.

EHIC in the event of a vote to remain

In theory, a vote to remain is a vote to retain the status quo and leave things exactly as they are. The UK government has negotiated some changed to the UK’s membership of the European Union, but these are mainly concerned with immigration rather than with reciprocal health arrangements. It’s also worth remembering that EHIC is a European Economic Area initiative rather than and EU scheme, and also includes countries such as Switzerland and Norway which are not in the EU either. So, if the UK does vote “remain” at the end of June, your EHIC will continue to be valid for your summer trip. Remember though that EHIC only covers medical treatment in the country concerned, and won’t pay towards getting you home in an emergency, or compensate you for lost passports or stolen money. A good travel insurance policy is something you shouldn’t travel without.

EHIC in the event of Brexit

If the UK votes to leave the EU, the picture is a lot less clear. As EHIC is not an EU initiative but one of the wider EEA, many experts believe that it will continue unchanged. The UK would simply join the list of countries which are not in the EU, but part of the EEA, along with Iceland and Norway. Furthermore, if the leave vote comes out on top, the UK will not cease ties with the EU immediately. There will be a prolonged negotiation and exit process which could take up to two years. During that period, the government would have time to clarify the EHIC status and make any changes to the scheme which are thought necessary. If the UK leaves both the UK and EEA however, EHIC would cease to be valid. That doesn’t stop the UK negotiating treaties with other countries for reciprocal healthcare – arrangements of this type are already in place with Australia, Russia, Israel and New Zealand.

Advice for travellers

Whatever the results of the referendum, EHIC will continue to be valid this summer in the countries which are part of the EEA. For summer 2017 and further in the future, the picture is less clear. The best advice is to take your EHIC cover (remembering that you need one card for each family member), but don’t scrimp on a good travel insurance policy either.