Health Insurance

(asked on 6th February 2019) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans the Government has to maintain mutual recognition of EU health insurance policies after the UK leaves the EU.


Answered by
Stephen Hammond Portrait
Stephen Hammond
This question was answered on 11th February 2019

Current reciprocal healthcare arrangements ensure that people from the United Kingdom and European Union countries can receive healthcare in each other's countries under certain conditions.

The UK Government appreciates the importance of retaining existing reciprocal healthcare arrangements with the EU and has been clear in the negotiations that it wants to see the continuation of these arrangements when the UK leaves the EU.

Subject to the Withdrawal Agreement being agreed by Parliament, during the implementation period all reciprocal healthcare rights will continue until December 2020 and there will be no changes to healthcare for pensioners, workers, students, tourists and other visitors, the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) scheme, or planned treatment.

As part of its future relationship with the EU, the Government has been clear that is proposing continued participation in the EHIC scheme and continued cooperation on planned treatment.

In the event the UK leaves the EU without an agreement, the Government is seeking to secure reciprocal arrangements bilaterally with individual member states.

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