What are the implications of the rules on reimbursement of the cost of medical treatment obtained in another Member State?
The proposal does not create new rights for patients. It merely clarifies the conditions under which patients can exercise those rights which have been recognised by well-established case law of the European Court of Justice. In that respect, the proposed Directive is complementary to Community Regulation 1408/71 on the coordination of social security systems, which already deals with many aspects of reimbursement for medical treatment obtained in another Member State. According to the case law of the European Court of Justice, the freedom to provide and receive services includes the right of patients to receive non-hospital care such as dental care, specialist advice or ambulant medical treatment in another Member State and to obtain – within certain limits – reimbursement from their own health system without having to obtain prior authorisation for the reimbursement. By contrast, with respect to hospital care, the Court has recognised that the need for planning in the hospital sector
