Rules and Practical Challenges of Cross-Border Healthcare in the European Union

Abstract

One of the building blocks of the functioning of the single market and the free movement of persons is the coordination of Member States’ social security systems at EU level. Due to the coordination rules, EU citizens in any Member State belonging to the European Economic Area and Switzerland have equal access to healthcare, whether unplanned, i.e. urgent or planned. A multi-level regulation of planned care has emerged in the European Union with the entry into force of the Patient Mobility Directive. The purpose of the creation of the Directive is to facilitate access to planned healthcare and thus overcome certain restrictive measures in the coordination rules. However, the enforcement of the Directive depends to a large extent on the adequacy of Member States’ implementing measures, so the European Union places great emphasis on monitoring the implementation as well. In addition to the multi-level regulation of healthcare abroad, the rules of the Patient Mobility Directive related to cross-border healthcare, as well as certain aspects of the implementation and future challenges of the Directive are presented in the study.