Health checks for immigrants

[Dom Tuk]

It has been known for US nationals to apply for asylum in the united kingdom in order to get free medical treatment.......bizarre you may think...use the freedom of information act and ask. US nationals with no medical cover know that they can get that treatment in the UK by claiming asylum. The Tory proposals will not stop this crazy abuse of our system. how can we strengthen the checks without making life impossible for the vast majority.

[hectic]

What about having a national database or having NHS ID cards that show you are entitled to free medical treatment unless you have an insurance policy which the vast majority of Americans usually need in their own country

[Dom Tuk]

Wont work with above example as all asylum seekers are entitled to free NHS treatment a loophole that some USA freeloaders are exploiting.

[ursula62]

But just how can someone from the US claim asylum? Unless they are claiming it on the basis of their state having the death penalty - in which case they wouldn't have been free to travel to the UK anyway...

[Dom Tuk]

ursula62...it is easy to claim...you just claim at the port or in croydon or just by post. Anyone can claim......and every claim is examined on an individual basis. So a claim from the USA is automatically refused (not an unsafe country where you can face persecution!!) but if the claimant then renounces US citizenship (again done by post if they desire) then where are you going to send them other than to an NHS bed. The US authorities will not accept them back if they have renounced citizenship. So get out and stay out. Ofcourse if they are on death row they cannot get here but if they do then viola.....

[rojash]

Dom Tuk. I knew your name rang a bell. Your'e the same person who posted the idiotic rubbish about AIDS in schoolchildren. And this is infalmmatory rubbish too. Exactly how many US citizens applied for asylum last year? How many of them were already sick when they arrived in the country? You don't know do you?

[Oneeyedvic]

SO an American will come over here to claim asylum by renouncing his citizenship........

...........so these Americans have to have enough money to get a flight over and probably sell everything they own over there. And in all likelihood would never be able to go back to the US. as I can't see the US immigration letting them in.

Yeah, that makes total sense - I bet there is thousands of them.

And don't forget that there are a lot of free charity hospitals in the US where you don't need insurance.

And how do you renounce your citizenship by post and then travel from America?

And what do Violas have to do with the death penalty.....surely Cellos are more pressing! (And don't get me started on Harpsichords)



I assume that this is a wind up!

[Dom Tuk]

No Rojash and oneeyedvic....the numbers are not in their thousands......but even one is sufficient to show that a loophole has been exploited. The MO is to come here claim asylum get the treatment and go. You wnat the numbers use the FOI act and get it or is it too inflammatory to ask?? If there is a likelihood that our authorities are likely to remove them before the person has reached the top of the waiting list for treatment then the MO is to renounce citiizenship.

[Oneeyedvic]

Sorry DomTuk, do you really believe that any law has no loopholes? There is no law in the world that I am aware of that can be written so that noone can take advantage of it. After all, that is why we have such a thriving law and accountancy practice in this country - they are there to exploit these loopholes.

Could I be bothered to explore how many people have done what you suggest? No I couldn't - maybe there are 100 in the last 10 years (but somehow I doubt it would be that high) - and lets face it, that is not really a large figure.

Lets concentrate on the bigger stuff and not get bogged down with the ( irrelevant ) smaller stuff.

[Dom Tuk]

No the number is not in its hundreds, definetly not. But i was foolish enough to think that even a couple would have caused worry. But as you say the wider picture has to be looked at and as i said in my question any strengthening of the checks would make life impossible for the vast majority.

This issue was raised on the BBC website where a contributor (not me) cited the above example. Checkout the link have your say on bbc.co.uk and see the contributions on 'should immigrants have health checks'.

Why cant this issue be raised without vitriol i dont understand.

[Oneeyedvic]

Can't say I can find anyone on that site extolling the Americans coming over here.

It can easily be raised without vitriol if you had any facts. Rather than just saying something with no proof and something that few people will think is an issue, if you backed it up with facts (including web links where appropriate) people may discuss this sensibly.

As it is, you have stated something which may or may not be true, you have 'guessed' at some figures (as I haev done - who's right - noone knows) and are pednatic to think that if 1 person wants to find a loophole then the law is an ass!

 

Your real question, then is how to strengthen checks without making life impossible for the vast majority. Simple answer is that you can't. Any form of checks are going to inconvenience the vast majority of people.

Persaonlly, I flew just after Spetember 11th. The checks that went on were amazing - but it meant that we had to go to the airport early, be searched several times and queue for ages. I didn''t actually let it bother me and felt the safest I had ever felt. It did bother the vast majority of people though.

[Ouisch]

Indigent Americans can apply for Medicaid, or seek medical treatment on a sliding scale.  Certain hospitals in all major cities must, by law, accept patients whether or not they are able to pay.  How, it seems logical to ask, would a person who is too poor to pay a doctor's bill scrape up the funds for a passport and an airline ticket to the UK?