Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how much they claimed in EEA medical costs from the Republic of Ireland under (1) Article 93, (2) Article 94, and (3) Article 95, during activity period 2016–17.

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

Requested figures for 2016-17, the latest available, are provided in the following table, rounded to the nearest pound. Member states can submit claims up to 18 months in arrears so claims for any 12 month period do not necessarily reflect treatment provided in that period.

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

Notes: Article 93 claims are combined claims for healthcare costs relating to temporary visitors (via European Health Insurance Cards), workers temporarily posted abroad by their employer, referrals for treatment in other EEA countries, or equivalent claims calculated on a formula basis under bilateral arrangements. Due to the nature of the claims system between member states, it is not currently possible to disaggregate the data consistently for all member states by either type of claim or type of treatment.

Article 94 claims are healthcare costs relating to dependents of workers not resident in same member state as the worker.

Article 95 claims are for healthcare costs relating to pensioners and dependents of pensioners.

Article 22.1c refers to patient referral claims.