This story was first published in digitalhealth.net
Migrants to pay upfront for non-urgent NHS treatment ‘by end of the year’
The Health Secretary is finalising plans to force migrants to pay upfront for non-urgent NHS treatment by the end of the year.
The Department of Health, despite not being included in the Queen’s Speech, is expected to lay out the regulations, which include a legal requirement that hospitals charge patients who are not eligible for free treatment upfront and in full.
According to The Sun, a new fee system will be introduced before the end of 2017 and migrants will be asked to bring a passport or other identification documentation to appointments in an attempt to clampdown on ‘health tourism’. Emergency treatment will still be available.
Jeremy Hunt believes that up to £500 million a year can be recovered to reinvest in the health service, but admitted earlier this year that the legislation had been delayed due to Brexit. The new law had been scheduled to be in place by April 2017.
A spokesperson said: “As set out in our manifesto, the Government remains committed to ensuring overseas visitors and migrants not eligible for NHS-funded care make a fair contribution.
“In the last three years we have more than trebled the amount we have identified from international visitors and migrants from £90 million to £289 million, and will now go further by introducing regulations in due course. This will include making it a legal requirement that hospitals charge patients who are not eligible for free NHS treatment upfront and in full for any non-urgent care.”
The Conservative manifesto in the general election added: “Whilst the NHS will always treat people in an emergency, no matter where they are from, we will recover the cost of medical treatment from people not resident in the UK. We will ensure that new NHS numbers are not issued to patients until their eligibility has been verified. And we will increase the Immigration Health Surcharge, to £600 for migrant workers and £450 for international students, to cover their use of the NHS. This remains competitive compared to the costs of health insurance paid by UK nationals working or studying overseas.”
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