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Permalink Reply by Richard Matz on August 10, 2015 at 13:07

P'raps a bigger issue is whether or not tax-dodging Non-Doms (such as the Telegraph's owners, the Barclay Brothers) can still use the NHS free of charge? Just saying....

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Permalink Reply by Donald Smith on August 11, 2015 at 16:54

Jeremy Hunt warned 18 months ago about foreigners charging NHS for ...

A report on NHS health tourism was published in October 2013 ^^^ and Labour claims(alleges) the Health secretary 'ignored' the findings (^^^ but Andy Cochrane 65 claims the rules were changed!)

AndyCochrane 65 writes in the Daily Telegraph

As I posted 8 hours ago...

It is always useful to check facts rather than rely on the Daily Mail. The facts about what the EHIC card does and doesn’t cover can be found here:http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/H...

The key sentences are:

1. The EHIC will cover any medical treatment that becomes necessary during your trip, such as an illness or accident.

2. Each country's health system is different, and might not include all the things you would expect to get free of charge from the NHS. This means you may have to make a patient contribution to the cost of your care.

3. New EHIC rules mean you will no longer be able to claim refunds for patient contributions (co-payments) in the UK for treatment received after July 1 2014.

The EHIC card is designed for urgent not planned treatment (see point 1) and it basically means the holder can access healthcare in the same way as a local (points 2 and 3). If these rules are applied and their application checked (which I accept is an ‘if’), there is no advantage to an EU national in using a UK issued EHIC card to access treatment in their home country.

There would be an advance to the taxpayer in their home nation as the cost of treatment is met by the NHS not the foreign government, but unless the (Daily) Mail or DT (Daily Telegraph)  are about to drop the bombshell that the Hungarian or any other EU government, are chartering planes to fly their citizens to the UK to obtain an
EHICH card before flying them home again, there is no actual fraud here.

Dougie wrote:

Professor Thomas, while right about many issues facing the NHS, is wrong to suggest that making possession of an NI number rather than an NHS number the qualification for an EHIC would help reduce misuse. NI numbers are easy for any EU citizen to obtain: they just have to ring the helpline and say they have an offer of work in the UK.

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Permalink Reply by Donald Smith on August 12, 2015 at 13:25

It continues to be the season when MPs especially the Secretary of States for Health do not understand their own Regulations: CLICK STORY HERE

EU workers ARE entitled to claim NHS funds for relatives abroad, Department of Health admits

Families qualify for European health insurance cards (EHIC) even if they have never set foot in the UK

Tens of thousands of EU citizens working in Britain are entitled to claim NHS funds to treat partners and children living in their home countries, the Department of Health admitted today.

Their families qualify for European health insurance cards (EHIC) even if they have never set foot in the UK, which means British taxpayers foot the bill for treatments not provided at home, the Evening Standard learned.

MPs called on David Cameron to reform the system and to take it up if necessary as part of his attempts to renegotiate European free movement rules. Tory MP John Redwood, the former Welsh Secretary, said: “This is just bizarre. The idea of EHIC is that people coming here from France have their health care billed to France. It is not supposed to mean that the NHS pays for people who do not live here.”

Under EU rules, any citizen working in the UK is entitled to the same benefits as British people. Some £55 million is already paid each year in child benefit to children of EU immigrants who live in other countries. A Department of Health spokeswoman said that anyone living and working in Britain was classed as being insured by the UK and entitled to NHS care. “If that person is insured then their spouse and family can apply to have the UK responsible for their health care costs, regardless of the country of residence,” she said.

The spokeswoman was unable to say how many people living in other EU countries took up the right or what the cost to UK taxpayers was.

The disclosure comes after the cost of EHICs was spotlighted in a Daily Mail investigation into illegal use of the cards by people who falsely claim to live in the UK to claim the cost of treatments abroad. However, claims under EU rules are perfectly legal.

Controversy over the EU rules was fuelled by a BBC report that thousands of young Britons could lose the right to claim some benefits for four years. The Government wants a four-year residency test for migrants but lawyers say it would breach EU laws unless it applies to all UK benefit applicants, from the age of 18.

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