Why Must We Fund Health Care For Those Choosing To Live Outside The Uk

[Apariah]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-40095822
Surely if they choose to live abroad they can make their own arrangements.

[Old_Geezer]

The agreement is that each generation pays for the health care of the citizens at the time and that entitles that generation to receive care in turn whenever they need it. Claiming they haven't paid for their care is splitting hairs. The entitlement stands because they have paid in.

[EDDIE51]

Apariah The NHS is far larger and more comprehensive than almost any other EU health service.
It costs a lot to run as we all know,2 times as much seems reasonable

[Khandro]

There are 3.2 m. EU citizens living in the UK - 5% of the population -
and only 1.2 m. Brits living in all the rest of the EU countries put together, so it is very much in the interests of the EU to remain with the present arrangements. As OG says this is just a bit of stubborn remoaners attempt at scaremongering.

[youngmafbog]

Figures don't add up, plus do we pay for ex-pats to Australia or the US?

As said above, more nonsense scaremongering.

[tamborine]

My siblings down under have own insurances to cover their health care, even though they worked & paid NIns in UK.

[Old_Geezer]

Assuming they didn't adopt Australian citizenship, arguably that is unfair. One could avoid system abuse by funding just the care costs they would have got here, in the same time-frame they'd have waited here, and that would have been fairer. Otherwise one has contributed when one could, and yet don't get the care when one needs it simply because of residing outside of one's home country.

[New Judge]

Whatever it costs (if it costs anything) we will have around £10bn a year to fund it. We find plenty of dosh to pay for asylum seekers, economic migrants and other assorted waifs and strays that pitch up in the UK. There are plenty of citizens of other nations, not in the EU, who simply live here and receive the full benefits that the NHS provides. There are no reciprocal payments involved because, in the main, the NHS cannot be bothered to claim them. Many of those people have contributed not a penny to the nation’s coffers. A few quid to fund ex-pat pensioners’ healthcare is small beer. Loads of “ifs”, “buts” and “maybes” in this latest chapter of Remoaner Rubbish.

[EDDIE51]

We do not pay for health care of UK citizens in Australia or anywhere outside the EU. That is the difference between living in the EU and living in other parts of the world! Living/working in the EU was supposed to be equal for all as long as you are an EU citizen!

[Peter Pedant]

// who, in the main, have paid their ‘insurance premiums’//

because the NHS is pay-as-you-go
so the current tax payer is paying for care in the current year ( and that includes EU citizens here who are also paying UK tax)

we give EU citizens free care so taht the Brits abroad get free care there. It sort of balances out

If all the olds in Costa Olda or wherever come back here it is an extra billion

oh and there wont be any EU junior doctors to treat them either

Shouldnt this have been discussed before Brexit ?
yeah but is is not a deal breaker is it ?

all the expats voted stay didnt hey ?

[New Judge]

“We do not pay for health care of UK citizens in Australia…”

Indeed not, Eddie. But we do pay for the health care of Australian citizens in the UK (for the reasons I outlined earlier). So if we can do that, we can find a few bob to treat ex-pats if they need to return to the UK for treatment. Lot of fuss over nothing.

[bednobs]

when expats were livig in this country (and contributing) they were entitled to and used the services they were contributing towards. Now they dont live here and dont contribute to society why should they still withdraw the benefits? Its a national health service, not an international health service

[jno]

because, in the main, the NHS cannot be bothered to claim them.

ah, so all the NHS needs is lots more administrators to investigate and process these claims. Of course, I have heard it suggested that they should already be sacking all the middle managers, but perhaps there's a reason they don't.

[New Judge]

“Its a national health service, not an international health service”

It’s been an international health service for donkeys’ years and that has nothing to do with ex-pats.

“ah, so all the NHS needs is lots more administrators to investigate and process these claims.”

Other countries’ health services manage to secure payment for treating foreigners with minimum fuss or effort. I’ve been treated abroad and most places have a simple check-in process which begins “Insurance details or credit card please sir.” No investigation is needed, little processing is required. And please don’t go down the road of refusing treatment to people who have been scraped from the road following an accident. The vast majority of people who pitch up for treatment are perfectly capable of providing their insurance or bank card details when they check in for treatment. There is ample administrative resource available in the NHS establishments I have used for simple collection of fees to take place.