Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to suspend all NHS charges for migrants during the covid-19 outbreak.
Regulations came into force on 29 January 2020 to add Novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) (now known as COVID-19) to Schedule 1 of the National Health Service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 2015. This means there can be no charge made to an overseas visitor for the diagnosis, or, if positive, treatment, of COVID-19.
In addition, migrants who are ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom, or exempt from charge under the Charging Regulations, such as those covered under the Immigration Health Surcharge, those seeking asylum in the UK and those who are victims of modern slavery are not subject to charges for most NHS care. The Government does not intend to suspend the NHS (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 2015.