THE costs of medical treatment abroad could rise sharply for Scottish travellers after Brexit, according to figures highlighted by the SNP as the party demanded guarantees from the UK Government to protect medical insurance for people going overseas.
SNP MSP Tom Arthur said questions remained about the future of the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) service after NHS England updated its website suggesting changes are in the pipeline following the UK’s vote to leave the EU on June 23. The service currently gives UK travellers in Europe the right to free or subsidised healthcare and medical treatment.
Calculations from the SNP show a significant net benefit to the UK from the EHIC, with UK travellers in Europe saving around £1.2 billion, compared to the £275 million cost to our NHS of treating European visitors to the UK, since the card’s introduction.
The UK Government’s Department of Health figures also state that over 56 million cards have been issued in the UK under the EHIC scheme since 2006 with around 30 million currently in circulation. Arthur, a member of Holyrood’s health and sport committee, said all these benefits and protections would be in jeopardy after a Brexit, with doubts about whether UK residents would be eligible for free or subsidised medical care.
The MSP called on the UK Government to commit to making reciprocal healthcare within the European Economic Area (EEA) a priority in Brexit negotiations.
It is not clear whether Britain after Brexit will remain as a member of the EEA, which allows non-EU nations such as Norway to be part of the EU’s single market.
Arthur said: “The European Health Insurance Card has saved UK travellers over a billion pounds in medical bills over the last 10 years – and Scotland didn’t vote to give that right away in June’s referendum.
“Any failure to guarantee our membership of the single market could lumber holidaymakers and people travelling in Europe for business with massive costs should they happen to fall ill or have an accident – and insurance premiums will skyrocket.
“The figures show a huge net benefit to the UK from the EHIC scheme – and the UK Government shouldn’t assume they can just invalidate 30 million health insurance cards on a whim.
“It’s truly astounding that the Tory government at Westminster still can’t answer the basic questions over what Brexit really means.
“Will Britain stay inside the single market? Will people be hit with a ‘holiday tax’ charge for visas to travel in Europe?
“And now, will the Tories give up our right to healthcare in other European countries – and lumber all of us with that billion pound health bill over the next ten years?
“Three months on and there’s no plan, and still no answers, from the UK Government beyond the meaningless mantra that ‘Brexit means Brexit’.
“The SNP is resolute in exploring all available options to keep Scotland within the EU, maintaining those vital protections and benefits we currently enjoy within the European community.”
A UK Government spokesman, responding to the SNP’s claims, said: “We will work closely with the Scottish Government to ensure we get the best possible outcome for the British people in our negotiations to leave the EU.”
Meanwhile, Boris Johnson said the UK Government cannot allow the process of opening formal negotiations for Britain to leave the European Union to “drag on”.
The Foreign Secretary acknowledged there was a “lot of work” to be done before ministers were ready to invoke Article 50 of the EU treaties – marking the start of the formal Brexit process.
However, he indicated that he would like to see the negotiations, which can take up to two years, wrapped up before the next set of elections to the European Parliament in May 2019.
“There is obviously Euro elections coming down the track,” he told BBC1’s The Andrew Marr Show.
He added: “We have got a lot of work to get our ducks in order. That is going on.
“After that, as the Prime Minister has rightly said, this process probably shouldn’t drag on.”
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