Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage the provision of reciprocal free healthcare within Europe and England.

There is currently wide-ranging advice and guidance on reciprocal healthcare arrangements across GOV.UK, the National Health Service website and the NHS Business Services Authority website. The Department also works closely with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office across Europe to promote people’s reciprocal healthcare entitlements, which includes country-specific guides.

We use a variety of communications activities including videos, blogs and social media messaging to reach different groups. The Department also works with travel companies and relevant media outlets to include reciprocal healthcare information.

To further promote the benefits of the Global Health Insurance Card, which is the eligibility document for accessing necessary healthcare when United Kingdom residents visit eligible countries, we are in the process of reviewing all Government content to make clearer the benefits of reciprocal healthcare arrangements to the public and ensure people can easily access information on the support available in-country should they require necessary healthcare.