Health Services: Foreign Nationals

(asked on 19th February 2016) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much was recharged to (a) other EU countries and (b) non-EU countries for health treatment by the NHS in 2015.


Answered by
Alistair Burt Portrait
Alistair Burt
This question was answered on 29th February 2016

An updated version of the ‘guidance on implementing the overseas visitor hospital charging regulations’ was issued to National Health Service bodies on 1 February 2016. This guidance explains what should happen when an overseas visitor, including from the European Economic Area (EEA) needs NHS treatment provided by an NHS hospital in England.

The Department on behalf of the United Kingdom Government reimburses other EEA countries and Switzerland for the cost of providing treatment to people we are responsible for under European Union law, irrespective of nationality. In the same way, other EEA countries and Switzerland reimburse the UK for the cost of the NHS providing treatment to people they are responsible for under EU law, including UK nationals insured in another EEA country or Switzerland.

The table below provides information about how much the UK paid to other EEA countries and Switzerland, and how much was paid to the UK for NHS provided treatments. Visitors from other countries are charged directly for their healthcare.

EEA Medical Costs

Member State Claims (against UK)

UK Claims (against EEA, Switzerland)

2014-15

2014-15

Austria

£5,473,017

£366,756

Belgium

£5,816,026

£4,323,308

Bulgaria

£255,924

£363,911

Cyprus

£10,132,385

£347,045

Czech Republic

£617,758

£471,140

Denmark (Waiver)

N/A

N/A

Estonia (Waiver)

N/A

£154,928

Finland (Waiver)

£10,047

£243,740

France

£147,685,772

£6,730,292

Germany

£25,873,954

£2,189,664

Greece

£2,682,953

£1,732,047

Hungary (Waiver)

£412

£22,196

Iceland

£295,943

£11,331

Ireland

£215,313,962

£19,214,031

Italy

£7,304,484

£1,510,850

Latvia

£14,725

£300,319

Liechtenstein

£193

£0

Lithuania

£283,625

£293,616

Luxembourg

£683,410

£75,151

Malta (Waiver)

N/A

N/A

Netherlands

£8,655,688

£3,251,412

Norway (Waiver)

£30,370

£0

Poland

£4,336,701

£1,523,402

Portugal

£6,351,400

£700,653

Romania

£13,330

£498,354

Slovakia

£438,715

£124,348

Slovenia

£266,623

£107,948

Spain

£223,290,021

£3,412,338

Sweden

£1,918,038

£1,367,213

Switzerland

£6,672,560

£400,131

Total

£674,418,036

£49,736,125

Source: Resource Accounting and Budgeting (RAB) exercise. Totals are based on estimates of the costs of European Economic Area (EEA) healthcare claims made annually for the purposes of provisions made in the Department of Health accounts in accordance with Treasury resource accounting rules.

Notes: Waiver is an agreed intentional relinquishment of healthcare costs between Member States

  1. Denmark – Full waiver
  2. Estonia and Norway – Waiver, excepting former Article 22.1c (patient referral) & Article 55.1c (industrial injury) claims
  3. Finland, Hungary and Malta – Waiver, excepting former Article 22.1c (patient referral) claims

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