Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what payments were made, in sterling, (1) in the most recent year by the UK to each European Union member state for healthcare provided to UK citizens and pensioners resident in each of those states, and (2) by each member state to the UK for EU citizens and pensioners resident in the UK; and what were the respective totals.

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, irrespective of nationality. In the same way, other EEA countries and Switzerland reimburse the UK for the cost of the National Health Service 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 latest available information about how much the UK paid to other EEA countries and Switzerland for healthcare, and how much was paid to the UK for NHS provided treatments.

Source: Resource Accounting and Budgeting (RAB) 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.

Note: 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) and Article 55.1c (industrial injury) claims
3. Finland, Hungary and Malta – Waiver, excepting former Article 22.1c (patient referral) claims