Migrants face 150% charge to use NHS

Guardian News and Media/LondonPatients from outside the EU are to be charged 150% of the cost of NHS treatment under government plans to deter so-called health tourism. The department of health yesterday said the charges could save the health service up to £500mn a year and would prevent “abuse” of the system by visitors and migrants.The Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, said the charges would be accompanied by greater scrutiny of recovery of fees by NHS trusts, who will face fines if they fail to identify and bill chargeable patients. “We have no problem with international visitors using the NHS as long as they pay for it just as British families do through their taxes,” said Hunt. “These plans will help recoup up to £500mn a year, making sure the NHS is better resourced and more sustainable at a time when doctors and nurses on the frontline are working very hard.”Hunt said £73mn a year is currently being recovered from international visitors but the series of steps taken by the government should ensure that the NHS will receive what it is entitled to by the middle of the next parliament. This could generate up to £200mn a year in the future, according to the department of the health.Last month, Hunt announced that trusts in England would be offered a premium of 25% on top of the tariff they receive for providing treatment from this autumn if they reported that it was given to a citizen of one of the 27 other EU member states. The NHS is able to reclaim the cost of treatment from other member states under longstanding reciprocal arrangements through the use of a European health insurance card (Ehic). Hunt has also said that a health surcharge will be imposed on non-EU visitors who are in the UK for longer than six months, when they submit an application for leave to enter or remain in the country. Plans to charge migrants have received a frosty reception from the medical profession, with concerns expressed about the bureaucracy and costs involved and that staff will end up doing the job of the Border Agency. There have also been fears that some migrants and short-term visitors who desperately need care could be discouraged from seeking treatment if they cannot pay the proposed charges. The department of health said that a clearer registration process and IT system would help lessen the burden on busy staff.