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https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/get-healthcare-cover-travelling-abroad/where-you-can-use-your-card

this is the page where it says UK GHIC is not valid in  Norway

I stand corrected.  It would appear that neither UK EHIC or UK GHIC are accepted in Norway nor Iceland or Liechtenstein. 

A good quality medical insurance would always be preferable but as you have found the older we become and the more pre existing medical conditions we need to cover the more difficult and expensive it becomes.

A while ago both my wife and I were struggling to get full cover at an affordable price for a specific trip.  We sort professional medical advice and took cover excluding one sticking point each, as we were advised that the possibility of them causing a problem and needing expensive treatment was remote.  It's all a balancing act.  

UK EHIC is accepted in those countries, only Switzerland may be a problem.

Presumably the fact that they are not full EU members is a factor for the GHIC.

Most insurers will expect you to have a GHIC OR EHIC, so we will need to get one.

Getting cover at a reasonable cost will likely decide our holiday plans for next year, so we need to start looking soon.

We travel to Europe twice a year from Scotland. The ferry cost is recovered once we have spent 4 weeks there due to the sites being much less cost. If we were to use solely aires it would be recovered in half that time.

Health insurance we buy through our Nationwide+ account, over 70s supplement £65 only need to pay it for 1 of you. Any medical issues you need to declare will carry a cost if you want them covered, you do get the option of naming them but not covering them, all other medical matters will still be covered.

Fuel and LPG are much a muchness they go up and down just like the UK so its hard to say its dearer as it depends on the country.

Food in France can be more expensive but as been said the variety is greater and the freshness usually better. Other countries can be cheaper or about the same.

Breakdown is covered through our Nationwide account which is now with the AA, this covers us both at home or abroad and for any vehicle we happen to be travelling in.

If we were to tour in the UK we would still need the health insurance for our 'other' holidays so we don't count that but we do count the supplement charged for extra days.

We have done the 'maths' as they say and we know that for us it is more cost effective to go to Europe than tour in the UK especially now with the price of this clubs sites. We feel we get a better experience, the roads are better, generally the weather is to. We can easily travel from one country to another, no need to book in advance, can change our minds at the last minute and go somewhere else without penalties.

Living where we do we don't take into account the 550 miles to get to the south coast as if we were to be holidaying in the UK we will easily do that anyway. 

I think if we were confined to the UK then given the cost of sites here we would more than likely give up the MH.

Update.......we have finally been given UK EHICS, but despite having lived and worked here since 1970, pard my tax and NI, receiving a UK state pension etc, being on the electoral roll in Scotland and owning a house, the NHS department who issue these cards could not trace me as being a legal resident.

I had to submit evidence of  my right to be here, which fortunately I do have in my old passports.

Being Scottish doesn’t help I was asked to pay for nhs treatment in Blackpool