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.

[weecalf]

Is it a cause they are British citizens who have paid into the health service?

[Apariah]

irrelevant they live abroad.

[Tilly2]

Why irrelevant?

[naomi24]

Why is geography an issue? We fund health care for plenty of foreigners who have never paid a penny into the pot, so why not those who, in the main, have paid their ‘insurance premiums’ throughout their working lives?

[Apariah]

if someone chooses to live abroad why would they expect to utilise another nations resources? Seems obvious to me.

[naomi24]

They've paid their premiums. Would you expect them to forego any life insurance they might have bought in this country too simply because they no longer live here?

[Sqad]

Many exPats who have lived and worked all their loves in the UK are still British citizens and have paid through National Insurance and Income tax probably more than most throughout their working lives.
Fine, if the UK refuses to fund their healthcare in their country of retirement,then they will return to the UK albeit on a temporary basis to afford themselves of a Healthcare system to which they have paid throughout their live and that would cost the UK treasury more money.

[naomi24]

sqad, //worked all their loves //

A Freudian slip? ;o)

[Sqad]

naomi.......LOL......no slip.

[naomi24]

Haaa! No surprise. ;o)

[Khandro]

Apariah; //if someone chooses to live abroad why would they expect to utilise another nations resources?

As stated above, those retired have paid all their lives into the NHS and they are not using up any resources, they are using that countries services, the cost of which is then billed to the NHS.

[EDDIE51]

The point of this story is that at the moment the UK pays the EU health services to look after our expats. If there is a 'hard brexit' with no deal then that will end and the overseas brits will have to return here when they need treatment, this is predicted to cost over twice as much as the current arrangement, as well as over stretching NHS resources even more than they are already!

[anneasquith]

Paid more tax ...... Is this an opinion or an excuse sqad ?

[Sqad]

asquith.......I said "probably" paid more in tax......probably.
Excuse or opinion.......can you please expound?

[Old_Geezer]

This is remainer waffle.
IF we don't agree an arrangement similar to now.
IF loads of pensioners return home.
Even then reciprocal arrangements must mean that EU citizens must lose free health care here too.
Plus they would be UK citizens returning and the UK's responsibility anyway. So if they return it is only forcing us to cover those we should. And surely no one believes expat pensioners abroad get so much free health care that it more than covers what we presently pay into the EU ?
It's all desperate scaremongering and spin.

[Apariah]

"this is predicted to cost over twice as much as the current arrangement" - how? are we to pay transport costs too?

[EDDIE51]

READ THE STORY before you make daft comments!
WE ALREADY DO FUND THEIR HEALTH CARE ! we do it by paying into the various EU health services according to the number of UK residents in each EU country.
If we leave the EU without an agreement, as will happen with a 'Hard Brexit', then that arrangement ends. expats will be forced to come back here to use the NHS. UK expats will be forced to come back home and use the NHS which will cost more than twice as much!

[Islay]

For those that say you have paid for your care - you have not you have paid for the previous generations care just as the NI that i am paying now is paying for the current pensioners!
By the way I am sure that the tax that is paid currently outstrips that paid by people 30-50 years ago.

[Apariah]

so the NHS is twice the price if EU health services? Really?

[Old_Geezer]

No one is forced to do anything. Plus so called "hard" Brexit doesn't mean no agreement; except in extreme circumstances. It means not bending over backwards with concessions (effectively ensuring we haven't left except on paper) in order to capitulate to unreasonable demands for what would be a mutually beneficial agreement going forward. It means not being a doormat for the EU. There's no reason (save intransigence and a desire on the part of the EU to insist on punitive measures), that a satisfactory agreement can't be made.