The European Health Insurance Card (EHIC)
The European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) allows any seafarer who is resident in a country of the European Economic Area or Switzerland to receive medical treatment in another Member State free of charge or at a reduced rate.
The card will cover the cost of health care normally covered by a statutory health care system in the country where the treatment is obtained. There are medical treatment cost benefits to be gained by shipowners in requiring seafarers who are eligible to carry a card to have the card on board during their period of employment.
Some ship owners have gone further and made it a term within the crew member’s contract of employment that a seafarer who is entitled to a European Health Insurance Card is obliged under his contract to carry such a card with him. A sample clause which is recommended to be inserted into crew member’s contracts of employment and/or collective bargaining agreements is as follows:
“All EU and EEA resident seafarers are required to carry a European Health Insurance Card.”
It is recommended that this clause or similar is drafted into crew contracts of employment in the section which deals with, for example, pre-employment medicals, vaccination certificates and certificates of competence.