[wakeyboy]

The government says it is going to crack down on non-EU citizens travelling to the UK for health treatments on the NHS.

They also propose that failed asylum seekers should have their entitlement to NHS treatment stopped, although critics doubt that someone with serious infectious diseases would be allowed to remain in the population untreated.

Anyone travelling to the UK in the future may have to have health insurance or be refused entry by immigration control.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8539014.stm

Apparently the NHS relies on £25 million from insured foreigners, but is having to write off £5 million from foreign patients who refuse to pay or disappear.

[mr dragon]

I've never had a problem in the past with the fact that I also have to pay for emergency health care for foreigners who visit the UK, with my monthly NI payments towards the NHS to insure my own health care. I don't think it's a seriously major expense on the NI budget overall. Having said that, I've always had to purchase health insurance when I go abroad to countries that wont offer the same reciprocally- and always when I go to the US. I don't have a problem with that either, and never have. If you choose to go to another country that has a different system, you have to accept the way the country works and cover yourself. It's your responsibility. However, given that some Americans like to slag off the NHS publicly, and given the fact that I fucking pay for it if those people ever need or use it when they travel over here- I now have absolutely no problem with the UK denying free emergency health care (or any other kind of health care) to some countries that don't have the same kind of reciprocal arrangement when their citizens travel over here. Let them pay for it themselves, and have to buy insurance cover for all our health services- including for emergencies, if they choose to travel to Britain. Given that this has now become an issue, particularly with some people in the US- I don't see why I, or any other British tax payer, should have to fork out for them if they ever have to use our health services that we pay for, in any form, whilst traveling in the UK.

Pretty fair deal, I say. I've often had to cover myself for emergency medical insurance when I go abroad, why shouldn't it be the same for the UK.