Hello, I don't know if anyone on here knows how to help this situation.. but here goes.
Recently we traveled to Paris. The first day my husband slipped on the circular stairs where we were staying. We went to a (unbeknownst to us at the time) public hospital where my husband was treated. He got X-rays and a cast and was told he needed surgery. After some complications we went to a hospital in Paris for the surgery. My husband had developed a fever and the doctor refused to do the surgery. We had to pay 9001 EUR first, before the surgery. The doctor told us the money would be 100% refunded to us. Part was on our Mastercard and Part on our bank debit card. We have not received a refund because the hospital doesn't seem to know how to manage the refund. They are willing to issue the refund. They have asked for our bank details which we sent to them but they say nothing is working. Has anyone had any success in this area? I'm at a loss of what to do next. Perhaps the French Embassy can help?
Posted by
Magyarország / Rep of Texas
20161 posts
Will your US insurance cover it? Worst case the $10,000 isn't much different than your out of pocket with a US policy if it had happened here. But it is surprising the cost and the red tape. There is a post from about 6 months ago where someone ended up in a Hungarian public hospital for about a week with a collapsed lung. If I remember correctly the cost was under $100 + the cost of toilet paper and food.
Good luck and go with the flow.
Posted by
OP
4 posts
Thank you for your reply. We do have travel insurance. And I have spoken with them as well as our bank and the Mastercard people. I have filed a claim. It's really confusing to me that the hospital doesn't seem to know how to reverse the charges or cancel them. Definitely a language barrier.
Posted by
OP
4 posts
I'm sorry you also had an injury. I'm new to using travel insurance and didn't know to call them in the first place but they are helping me now.
Posted by
913 posts
Oh that’s great you have the international medical insurance.
I would think you would just submit the paperwork to the insurance company for reimbursement then the insurance company can chase down the hospital and deal with them. You’d be out of the loop because you would have gotten your refund. What is the insurance company telling you?
Posted by
The Heartland USA
8963 posts
Tough situation and I'll bet it was scary. Please clarify - did you have the surgery there or not? Your post says the doctor decided not to do it, but doesn't go on to say if it happened. If not, I can see why your insurance and the travel insurance wouldn't pay because a service was not provided.
It's not surprising, however, that foreign care providers wouldn't have much experience dealing with American clients and our different financial system. Their business transactions are likely normally done by bank transfer.
Anyone know if Wise works in reverse?
Posted by
Seattle, WA
17417 posts
It sounds like this is a refund for services that were not provided (the surgery), not a reimbursement for service that was provided. So it is not a standard insurance claim. The simplest solution would be for the hospital to refund back to the two bank cards used for payment. But if they cannot do that, and want to send a cash refund by direct deposit to your bank account**, they need more than your personal account details. They need the international banking codes for your bank, the SWIFT and IBAN codes. Your bank should help you with those.
**This may be a requirement of their accounting system
Posted by
OP
4 posts
Thank you to all for your helpful replies.
Good suggestions.
The surgery was canceled and not performed.
Our insurance claim with Allianz is under review. Perhaps they will be able to solve this situation.
Posted by
France Southwest
2318 posts
It's very strange that a hospital asks for €9,000 without even having performed the surgery. I wonder what this €9000 corresponds to
Posted by
Chicago, IL, USA
486 posts
A couple of suggestions. Ask the hospital again to have in writing what format(s) they want your bank information in. And then call your bank to have them help you fill it in that format. Or the reverse, ask your bank what format(s) they can accept Euro payments in and go back to the hospital with that. If you were wanting to contact an embassy I would ask the embassy of your home country that is in France. For example if you are from the USA ask the American embassy in Paris. They may be able to explain the format you need to provide.
Posted by
913 posts
Oh I missed the clarification on not having had the surgery. Hopefully the credit card companies can help there. And Alliance.