The EU's top court, ruling on a so-called "medical tourism" case, said patients seeking treatment in another member state should have the cost covered by their home authorities if local care is not available in "good time."
Anti-EU parties, which did well in May elections, have picked up on the issue as another example of Brussels' meddling in member state affairs at the expense of local patients.
They say foreign patients take up hospital beds which should first go to locals, making the issue even more politically sensitive as governments try to balance their budgets and control ballooning healthcare costs.
The European Court of Justice said it found in favour of a woman in Romania who went to Germany for open heart surgery costing 18,000 euros which her local health authority then refused to pay.
"The reimbursement of medical expenses incurred in another member state cannot be refused where a lack of basic medical supplies and infrastructure" means treatment is not available locally "in good time," it said.
The judgement of time and availability must be made, however, by the hospitals and relevant authorities in the patient's home country, it said.
© 2014 AFP
