A Killorglin man is calling for an insurance loophole, which deters stage four cancer patients from travelling abroad, to be closed.
Erwin Kingston's wife Aoife died from cancer last October at the age of 50.
Prior to her death, Aoife asked that the family spend their last holiday together in a place close to her heart: Portugal.
Erwin Kingston says they spent €3,700 on health insurance for the family, which they believed covered any emergency medical care needed while abroad and the cost of international patient transfer back to Ireland if necessary.
He says this gave them the peace of mind they needed to make the trip.
However, he then discovered the terms of the policy stated the cover was 'subject to approval'.
Aoife was denied this approval because she had a pre-existing condition, namely stage four cancer.
Erwin says many people with stage 4 cancer lead very normal lives for several years, but may be unaware that they are not full covered by their health insurance while abroad:
The European Health Insurance Card only provides limited covered.
In the end, the family decided to travel to Portugal and had a holiday which the whole family will always cherish.
