With school holidays round the corner, I have received more complaints from constituents who have been caught out by a site charging a fee for the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC).
The card is free to apply for, however an online company is charging people a processing fee to pass details on to the official site.
The EHIC provides holiday makers with peace of mind that, should they fall ill on holiday, they will not be landed with massive healthcare bills. It allows people from the UK to access state-provided healthcare in all European Economic Area (EEA) countries and Switzerland at a reduced cost or sometimes free of charge.
I am concerned that people are being encouraged to spend money for what is a free service and understand that the NHS has been receiving complaints from disgruntled applicants.
The rogue website looks very professional and it would be easy to be drawn into parting with your money so it is important for people to know that they can apply free of charge online.
