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Health tourism: Foreigners face charge to access NHS Foreigners face more charges to access NHS
(about 3 hours later)
Non-EU nationals who come to the UK for more than six months could be charged at least £200 a year to access NHS treatment, it will be announced later. Non-EU nationals coming to England for more than six months could be charged £200 a year to access NHS treatment.
The charge - an attempt to crack down on so-called "health tourism" - will be on top of visa charges, officials say. The charge, added to visa costs for students, is among proposals due to be unveiled in a government consultation.
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, who is expected to announce a public consultation, said he was "determined to wipe out abuse in the system". Changes may be made to how hospitals reclaim costs from EU patients and free access to GPs stopped for those staying less than six months.
Some doctors have claimed the move would turn surgeries into border posts. Some doctors say surgeries could be turned into border posts and there are concerns about public health risks.
The government believes some people come to the UK to take advantage of the system, but the extent of the problem is unknown. The government believes some people come to the UK to take advantage of the system and plans to carry out an audit to determine the extent of the problem.
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt is to unveil a consultation on its plans but has already suggested an additional £200 charge on six-month visas, as well as charging tourists for GP access and moves to recover more healthcare costs from other countries.
The Department of Health said the cost of treating foreigners is at least £30m a year for the NHS in England alone - although Dr Clare Gerada, chairwoman of the Royal College of GPs, said that was the equivalent of just two hours of the NHS's annual spending.The Department of Health said the cost of treating foreigners is at least £30m a year for the NHS in England alone - although Dr Clare Gerada, chairwoman of the Royal College of GPs, said that was the equivalent of just two hours of the NHS's annual spending.
Mr Hunt told BBC Breakfast foreign students would pay the fee along with visa costs, but said he was not sure how other visitors would be charged. Mr Hunt told BBC Breakfast foreign students would pay the fee along with visa costs and it had been set at a level that would be competitive with what other countries charge foreign students for healthcare.
He said the government was considering methods of collecting the money "centrally", rather than asking NHS services to do so. He also said current rules on reclaiming healthcare costs from other European countries had "bad incentives" which could be changed as the burden fell on hospitals to chase up the money themselves.
He insisted he was "not talking about turning anyone away", saying people would be "chased up" for money after receiving treatment. "One of the things we are looking at in this consultation is whether we should change the incentives so that hospitals still get paid the NHS tariff but actually have an incentive to declare it and then perhaps we collect that money centrally."
BBC political correspondent Robin Brant said the NHS was free at the point of delivery - no matter who you were or where you came from. He said the government needed to "ensure that those residing or visiting the UK are contributing to the system in the same way as British taxpayers and ensure we do as much as possible to target illegal migration".
Foreigners were entitled to various treatments, including emergency care and treatment for diseases like HIV and TB, he said.
Mr Hunt said the government needed to "ensure that those residing or visiting the UK are contributing to the system in the same way as British taxpayers and ensure we do as much as possible to target illegal migration".
"We have been clear that we are a national health service not an international health service and I am determined to wipe out abuse in the system," he added."We have been clear that we are a national health service not an international health service and I am determined to wipe out abuse in the system," he added.
The government is also considering ending free access to GPs for foreigners staying less than six months.
'Public concern''Public concern'
Some doctors have warned they fear being turned into "a form of immigration control". Some doctors have warned they fear being turned into "a form of immigration control" over plans to charge visitors for GP access.
The Royal College of GPs told BBC News the plans would place further burdens on doctors. Royal College of GPs chairwoman Dr Gerada said: "My first duty is to my patient - I don't ask where they're from or whether they've got a credit card or whether they can pay."
Dr Gerada said: "My first duty is to my patient - I don't ask where they're from or whether they've got a credit card or whether they can pay." For Labour, shadow health minister Liz Kendall said people who were not entitled to free NHS care should be made to pay for it but added: "We will have many questions to ask about the details when they are published but the key tests for their proposals are: can they be properly enforced and will they save more money than they cost to put in place?"
Labour health spokesman Jamie Reid, meanwhile, said more details were needed about the extent of the problem. She also said plans must "protect the public's health as well as taxpayers' money".
"It's absolutely essential that any policy in this regard is based upon facts, it's not based upon perceptions or dog-whistle policies or assumptions which are proven later not to be true," he told BBC News. On Twitter, shadow public health minister Diane Abbott said: "What price xenophobia? Stigmatising foreigners accessing NHS creates a public health risk."
"But it's absolutely the case that this is our national health service, it's not an international health service, and it should be treated as such."
The National Aids Trust said the policies would "undermine years of work to encourage marginalised at-risk groups to access HIV testing and treatment".The National Aids Trust said the policies would "undermine years of work to encourage marginalised at-risk groups to access HIV testing and treatment".
Chief executive Deborah Jack said "limiting access to primary care for some migrants" would cut off "the only place many of them will get an HIV diagnosis - short of presenting at A&E many years after they were infected once they are very seriously ill".Chief executive Deborah Jack said "limiting access to primary care for some migrants" would cut off "the only place many of them will get an HIV diagnosis - short of presenting at A&E many years after they were infected once they are very seriously ill".
She added: "If they go ahead, they risk putting lives at risk and accelerating the spread of HIV in the general population."She added: "If they go ahead, they risk putting lives at risk and accelerating the spread of HIV in the general population."
The Department of Health said people with HIV would still receive free healthcare if the scheme was introduced. The Department of Health said people with HIV would still receive free healthcare if the scheme was introduced and Mr Hunt told the BBC there would be an "exemption on all public health grounds" and pointed to other countries which charge for healthcare but did not suffer higher rates of, for example TB, as a result.
The government has previously said a government-wide push to cut "benefit tourism" was being considered in response to "widespread public concern".The government has previously said a government-wide push to cut "benefit tourism" was being considered in response to "widespread public concern".