Does Insurance Cover Treatment Abroad? Joint Replacement, IVF, Heart Surgery and Cataracts

Having health insurance doesn’t always mean you’ll get treatment when you actually need it. In the UK and Canada, the main problem is long waiting lists. In the US, you might run straight into a claim denial. And in EU countries, oddly enough, there’s a legal route to getting treatment in another country funded by your own healthcare system.

If treatment is being delayed, your insurer has said no, or the technology you need simply isn’t available where you live, treatment abroad becomes a real option worth exploring. Here’s the breakdown by diagnosis — hip and knee replacement, IVF, heart surgery, cataracts — what your insurance actually covers, what it doesn’t, and what your options look like if you’re in the UK, US, Canada, or the EU.

Does Insurance Cover Hip or Knee Replacement Abroad?

Hip and knee replacement is one of the procedures where patients in the UK and Canada most often run into long waits.

In England, the NHS elective care waiting list stood at 7.11 million cases in March 2026. The standard requires 92% of patients to start treatment within 18 weeks — but in March 2026, only 65.3% actually did. Canada isn’t much better: the median wait for orthopaedic surgery in 2025 was 48.6 weeks.

UK residents do have an option — the S2 route. Under the right conditions, the NHS can fund planned treatment in another EU country’s public healthcare system, as well as in Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, or Liechtenstein. The key condition is confirming that the NHS can’t provide the treatment within a medically justified timeframe, and approval has to be secured in advance, before treatment starts.

If S2 doesn’t apply, or you’d rather go private abroad, that’s a realistic option too — it just becomes a self-funded trip. For more on wait times in the UK and Canada specifically, see our article «Joint Replacement Abroad: UK & Canada Wait Times».

Hospitality MedService can help you find a clinic and a surgeon, get a medical assessment, and get a cost estimate before you travel.

Does Insurance Cover IVF Abroad?

Here, the reason for travelling often has nothing to do with money or waiting lists — it comes down to the law. Egg donation is banned in Germany. Same in Switzerland. If you need IVF with a donor egg, there’s simply nowhere to have it done at home — so patients go where it’s legal, often the Czech Republic or Spain.

That said, IVF in Europe isn’t automatically “not covered.” In the UK, the NHS can fund treatment if you meet your region’s criteria (which, unfortunately, vary a lot). So the reason for going abroad can be different case by case: sometimes it’s a legal restriction, sometimes a waiting list, sometimes a cap on how many funded cycles your area offers. Which countries suit each of these situations, and what treatment is likely to cost, is covered in “IVF Abroad: When Fertility Treatment Is Restricted, Expensive or Unavailable at Home”.

If you’re considering IVF with a donor egg in the Czech Republic, Hospitality MedService can match you with a suitable clinic — UNICA is one option — and arrange the trip, clarifying all the medical details with the doctor in advance.

Does Insurance Cover Heart Surgery Abroad?

In the US, a cardiac patient is less likely to face a lack of access than a coverage problem. According to KFF, insurers on HealthCare.gov denied 19% of in-network claims and 37% of out-of-network claims in 2024. In other words, the surgery might be physically available — it just might not be covered by your specific plan.

The UK and Canada look different — there, the main obstacle is wait times for planned treatment. There’s no single number that applies across the board: it depends on the type of surgery, urgency, and region.

Does Insurance Cover Cataract Surgery Abroad?

Cataract surgery is one of the most common planned procedures in both the UK and Canada, and the wait can stretch into months. Canada has set a national benchmark of 16 weeks (112 days) from booking to surgery.

Canada’s public health insurance typically covers treatment within the country but won’t pay for a planned procedure at a private clinic abroad.

The S2 route works here too for UK residents. If the NHS can’t perform the surgery within a reasonable timeframe, you can apply for prior authorisation to be treated in a participating country — but only within that country’s public healthcare system.

If you don’t meet the S2 criteria, would rather go private, or simply want your vision restored sooner, Hospitality MedService can put together a paid lens replacement option abroad, matched to your timeline, clinic preferences, and budget.

Treatment Abroad for EU Residents: Can Insurance Cover Treatment in Another EU Country?

EU citizens have a legal route to being treated in another EU country, funded by their home healthcare system. Two different figures matter here, and it’s worth telling them apart.

In 2022, 547,890 reimbursement claims were filed for treatment already paid for abroad — 83.5% were approved. Separately, 4,552 requests for prior authorisation were filed, of which 3,653 were approved (80.25%).

Don’t read these numbers as a guarantee for any individual application — the outcome always depends on the type of treatment and your national system’s rules. And the S2 mechanism has a clear boundary: it doesn’t apply to Turkey, India, South Korea, or the US. If you’re specifically interested in treatment in Turkey that wouldn’t be covered by insurance anyway, Hospitality MedService works with leading university hospitals there, including Medipol Mega and Florence Nightingale.

Brexit and Treatment Abroad: Can UK Residents Still Use S2?

Yes — and it’s worth spelling out, because plenty of people assume otherwise. Brexit didn’t eliminate the S2 route for UK residents. Under the right conditions, you can still get NHS funding for planned treatment in the EU, as well as Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, or Liechtenstein — if the NHS confirms it can’t provide that treatment within a reasonable timeframe.

One important detail: S2 only covers the receiving country’s public healthcare system, not any private clinic you choose. If you want a private clinic, or a country S2 doesn’t cover, you’ll need to pay for it yourself.

Does Regular Travel Insurance Cover Treatment Abroad?

Usually not. That kind of policy is built for an unexpected illness or injury on a trip — not for a procedure you planned in advance. Before you book anything, it’s worth reading your policy closely: which countries are covered, whether prior approval is required, and whether your situation is covered at all.

If your insurance doesn’t cover the treatment you need, that’s not the end of the road — the trip can still be arranged on your own, or with the help of a professional team.

What Hospitality MedService Can Do

Hospitality MedService doesn’t make insurance coverage decisions and can’t guarantee that an insurer or public healthcare system will pay for your treatment.

Our job is simpler and more concrete: find the right medical route and see it through — choosing the country, clinic, and doctor, handling your medical records, getting a preliminary treatment plan and cost estimate, arranging the trip, and coordinating every stage of it.

If You Live in the EU or the UK

A waiting list, no specialist or technology available, or a legal restriction — we’ll help you find a clinic in another country. If you might be able to use cross-border funding, we’ll help you understand your options and prepare the paperwork, though the funding decision always stays with your insurer or public healthcare system. If S2 or other EU mechanisms don’t apply, we’ll look at clinics outside the EU/EEA/Switzerland.

If You Live in the UK, US, or Canada

We match you with a clinic and doctor based on your diagnosis, how complex your case is, and what matters more to you — speed or budget.

Before you travel, you’ll get a preliminary treatment plan and cost estimate based on your medical records. If this is your first time considering treatment abroad, start with our clinic-selection checklist.