Upfront charges for NHS 'health tourists' in England

[Northerner]

NHS hospitals in England will have a legal duty to charge overseas patients upfront for non-urgent care if they are not eligible for free treatment.

From April this year, so-called health tourists could be refused operations unless they agree to cover their costs in advance.

NHS Improvement, which oversees the trusts, said hospitals would no longer have to chase money they are owed.

Emergency treatment will continue to be provided and invoiced later.

The announcement from Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt comes amid recent headlines about the cost of tourists using the NHS.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-38876527

 

[grovesy]

Another smoke screen.

 

[Ljc]

Another smoke screen.

I agree

 

[Northerner]

Dr Phil Hammond was on the Daily Politics making exactly that point. Yes, by all means do something, but work out the details first - will people turned away simply end up in A&E a week later, how much will it cost to administer and who by - will it take time from clinical staff, and do not let this be a distraction - as is clearly intended - from the far greater problems the NHS is facing. Hunt says he hopes this will save £500m a year, which is obviously not to be sniffed at, but it's a drop in the ocean when the current NHS budget stands at £116bn. It's exactly the same as the way they distracted from their deep cuts to benefits by associating ALL benefit claimants with fraud, despite the fact that fraud accounts for something like half a percent of the benefits budget and could probably never be completely eliminated anyway. Sleight of hand 😡

 

[grovesy]

Dr Phil Hammond was on the Daily Politics making exactly that point. Yes, by all means do something, but work out the details first - will people turned away simply end up in A&E a week later, how much will it cost to administer and who by - will it take time from clinical staff, and do not let this be a distraction - as is clearly intended - from the far greater problems the NHS is facing. Hunt says he hopes this will save £500m a year, which is obviously not to be sniffed at, but it's a drop in the ocean when the current NHS budget stands at £116bn. It's exactly the same as the way they distracted from their deep cuts to benefits by associating ALL benefit claimants with fraud, despite the fact that fraud accounts for something like half a percent of the benefits budget and could probably never be completely eliminated anyway. Sleight of hand 😡

The experts are saying with the costs of administering recovering the monies, it won't be that much. I am inclined to believe that.

 

[trophywench]

And it ain't that much anyway, in comparison.

 

[mikeyB]

Mr *unt is using false numbers again. £500m is the total cost of treating foreign nationals in the NHS. Of that £500m, £120m is uncollected, from last year. So whatever system you set up to collect it, it has to be less than £120m to show a benefit. As has been said, this is loose change compared to the bill for the NHS.

 

[grovesy]

I also read somewhere that some of the unpaid monies is from EU countries not reimbursing us.

 

[Austin Mini]

When we go abroad we take health insurance so why dont these tourists coming here? No wonder our NHS is short of money and the A and E so overstretched.

 

[Northerner]

When we go abroad we take health insurance so why dont these tourists coming here? No wonder our NHS is short of money and the A and E so overstretched.

As Mike has pointed out, it's a pittance in the scheme of things - the government wants you to believe that A&E is so overstretched because it's short of £120m a year...:rolleyes And as grovesy points out, some of that 'missing' money is other EU countries not reimbursing us properly...