I have a EHIC sent to me by the UK and renewed by UK as and when necessary.
On reading a recent Post, I realise it is worthless in the UK itself… So what should I do ? I have been visiting family in the UK , once a year blithely tucking my EHIC and CV into my handbag.
I believe you need to apply for the French version of this. There’s a link here
That is the way i read the EHIC too; each member country issues their own , to their residents.
I shall certainly have to investigate this further…
Stella, if I understand it correctly, as you have a CV you are in the health system and you should apply to your caise for the EHIC.
That was the case for us anyway until recently when we both became pensioners and in possession of an S1. This means that the UK is now responsible for our healthcare outside of France and whilst in the UK. If you have an S1 (never ask a lady her age lol) then you could quite rightly be in possession of a UK EHIC 
Hi Graham… this is where I am confused…well, I am of a “certain age” so not surprising…
We both had S1’s yonks ago and got our CV’s…but for travel to Portugal we needed the EHIC’s… We asked at CPAM and were referred to UK. Subsequently these were renewed by UK in 2010 …
On close examination of the accompanying paperwork (which I neglected to do at the time…)
March 2010: It clearly states on the paperwork to which my EHIC was attached:
“The EHIC card does not provide entitlement to NHS services.”
However, September 2010: Hubbies EHIC paperwork says:
“The EHIC only proves entitlement to necessary NHS services, including the monitoring and treatment of pre-existing conditions, whilst visiting the UK.”
So at least he has some sort of access to medical care if necessary.
I’m going to have to sort this out… very frustrating… the Ameli site is “down” for that enquiry at the moment.
I think it’s correct.
If you have your healthcare in France via a UK-issued S1, therefore you also have a UK-issued EHIC, then you can use it in the UK (or Spain or Italy or anywhere except France) exactly as if it was a French-issued CEAM. The only place you can’t use it is France. Sounds Irish I know, but that’s how it works. Your EHIC covers you in the UK as a French resident requiring treatment whilst visiting. So sticking your EHIC in your handbag with your CV is exactly the right thing to do.
Something must have changed between March and September 2010…and I am hoping you are right and that both OH and I do have sufficient cover for visits to UK.
Phew, sometimes ignorance is bliss… I’ve been a bag of nerves this last few hours…
Hi Stella,
I would recommend looking at information less than 5 years old. Why, because this is how long an EHiC card is valid.
On reading more about them, it IS definitely a basis of residency that the UK website quotes.
A couple of links to some good info…
https://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthcareabroad/EHIC/Pages/about-the-ehic.aspx
this one has statements about residency
https://www.ehic.org.uk/Internet/startApplication.do
this one has a helpline number 0300 330 1350 which i would try and call to explain your dilemma.
https://www.ehic.org.uk/Internet/eligibilityhelp.do
Personally ( and sorry if causes any uneccesaries) , I cannot see how you can use a UK supplied EHIC, when a French resident, even though, you have one issued by the UK.
ie I do not need one to gain healthcare in uk , as i am currently resident, but can use it in France for a limited period.
Basically i would make steps to cover your 6.
Hi Glenn… our cards have been renewed more than once but the only paperwork I seem to have kept is dated 2010. Our current cards expire in 2021.
We are UK pensioners… that is why we have UK issued EHIC’s…issued to our address here in France and we take the EHIC with us when we travel abroad (ie out of France).
If you are covered by an S1 in France you now are eligible for full NHS. Treatment in UK . You can choose to be treated in UK, but why would you.
This included eye tests.
You do not have to wait for six months to receive NHS. treatment.
This all changed about eighteen months ago.
Hi Jane and thanks for your info. I have no wish to seek treatment in UK… just wondering what would happen if I fall ill while on a visit there.
You’d probably die on a trolley in a corridor in A&E whilst waiting more than 8 hours to be seen…
My experience of Urgence here in France is exceptional so would fear the worst if taken ill in a third world country like the UK (despite what Mrs May says about their world class NHS)
In UK I was put on the waiting-list to have my tonsils removed when I was 9 years old… and I’m still waiting.
I’ve just found the relative information which confirms I am entitled to health care in UK. Phew, over and out…
“If you are in receipt of a UK pension and have registered a valid UK S1 form with the relevant authorities in your country of residence, and your healthcare is paid for by the UK by virtue that S1 form, then you are now entitled to return to England to receive free NHS hospital treatment, just like someone who is ordinarily resident in England.” quote from 2017 info 
Not that I intend to make use of it… but it is better to be aware, before emergencies occur…
Aha, thanks for that link Mandy!
I took ill while in the US, and was thankful that we took the precaution of having additional private travel insurance to cover this and any additional costs.
My French insurer has paid for the CHANGE to our flights - yes BA charged us the princely sum of Euros 1600 to cancel our flights from Boston to New York, then New York to London and finally on to France - and instead give us earlier tickets for Boston/London/Nice. Unbelievable charge just to modify flights for 2 people, and to add to our woes, when we turned up to checkin about 10 hours later, they told us we were on standby! So BA falls far below the standards expected, but insurance company refunded us quickly and efficiently - once BA actually manage to produce an invoice (tricky request for them that one…???) that is, took 3 attempts and lots of time on the phone.
I had to visit a GP surgery, and have various tests done at the local hospital before we left the USA - not huge bills, around USD1000. Generous discounts for paying within 30 days and for not being insured (with a US company that is) were a welcome surprise when the hospital bill came in. You hear such dreadful stories of US medical money grabbing - the reality for me was quite the opposite. I had to call them once safely back in France and recovered to ask if I could pay!
Anyway, the surprising thing was that the French insurers said that I had to first send my American bills to CPAM - and they would reply by sending me a certificate saying how much they would cover, then the insurers would refund me the balance. This surprised me, as I thought that France would not pick up any of these costs. I have sent all the originals to CPAM, along with a covering letter, and not yet heard back from them. Have now printed the form you kindly posted the link to, and will send that on to them, with a copy of the original letter. Perhaps that may speed things up a little. From my point of view, does not matter how much CPAM actually do pick up in the way of costs, I just need to prove that I have asked them and will then be refunded.
Looking forward to visiting New York at some time in the future, sorry to have missed it this year, but at least I had a wonderful time in New England in The Fall…
Oh FAB, well done for getting that info…i’m sure will be very useful to many 
Since 2015 we have the right to treatment back in the UK , even elective operations, should you wish. I have heard of cases of French GPs co-ordinating with UK hospitals. I am in process of getting my carte vitale here and information was on the back of my S1.
I think youmight find it is the other way round - or at least it was. A southern UK Health Trust was paying for UK NHS patients to be treated in Calais IIRC.
As for being treated in the UK, you’ll need to join the queue if it’s other than a desperate lifesaving emergency (if you make it past the trolley in A&E alive) as the Govt have announced that they are cancelling all minor ops until well into the new year (indeed, they did a similar thing last year and they were only just catching up with the backlog!).