Visitor and Migrant NHS Cost Recovery Programme

Jeremy Hunt Excerpts

Monday 14th July 2014 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Health (Mr Jeremy Hunt)]

The Government have today published the “Visitor and Migrant NHS Cost Recovery Programme—Implementation Plan 2014-16”. This document acts as a statement of purpose and includes commitments for programme delivery as well as announcing policy for increasing cost recovery rates.

The Department of Health is working to create a fairer NHS by improving the systems for charging overseas visitors and migrants to make sure they contribute towards their NHS health care. It is clear that more can be done to increase cost recovery; our independent research estimated that in the financial year 2012-13 we recovered an estimated £73 million, which represented less than 20% of the estimated total possible recovery. To deliver this the Department has been working with the NHS, its arm’s length bodies, and key stakeholders to design and test measures to encourage providers to identify and charge non-EEA visitors and identify and report EEA visitors’ usage of NHS services.

The implementation plan provides a guide to the NHS of how this will be achieved. A key aspect of this is a new financial incentive which will increase the level of cost recovery from chargeable patients from outside the European economic area (non-EEA). This process will enable NHS providers to bill chargeable non-EEA patients at a rate of 150% of standard NHS tariff for the cost of the care provided. The Department intends to lay secondary legislation before Parliament by the end of the 2014-15 financial year to enable this. The Department will keep the rates of the incentives under review to ensure that it is effective and is driving change.

The plan also includes increased scrutiny of the cost recovery from non-EEA patients by NHS providers. This will ensure that their statutory obligation to support NHS sustainability through appropriate identification and charging of visitors and migrants is being met.

These measures will help to underpin and maintain the principles that the NHS will always treat those in urgent need of care and that NHS care is free at the point of delivery for residents. This programme aims to reinforce the fairness of our health service by ensuring that everyone who is not entitled to free health care contributes to the cost of running the NHS.

“Visitor and Migrant NHS Cost Recovery Programme—Implementation Plan 2014-16” has been placed in the Library. Copies are available to hon. Members from the Vote Office and to noble Lords from the Printed Paper Office.