Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the EHIC system will be continued or replaced after the UK leaves the EU.

The United Kingdom Government has proposed to all Member States that we should maintain existing reciprocal healthcare arrangements, including the European Healthcare Insurance Card scheme, until 31 December 2020 if the UK leaves the European Union without a deal.

I laid a Written Ministerial Statement (HCWS1832) on 26 September 2019, setting out the Department’s position on ‘no deal’ reciprocal healthcare arrangements, and updated information has been published on GOV.UK and NHS.UK on the situation for each Member State, including what arrangements have been put in place. These pages will be kept updated as further assurances from Member States are received.

The UK will consider the long-term arrangements for reciprocal healthcare once we have left the EU.