NHS bill for £1000

[ladle4455]

My dad, 80, came for a visit from overseas from overseas for three months. He is fit and healthy but its impossible to find health insurance at his age. Anyway, there was a health emergency and we went to A&E. Waited for 7 hours but after 15 minutes of diagnostic tests (x ray etc but no medicines) was told there was no problem. was hugely relieved. I thought there was no charge as it was an emergency but have now been sent a bill for £1000. Apparently the charge for overseas patients is 150% (there times the actual cost) and the test was done by another department not A&E. Any advise? I have to sell my car to be able to pay as I don't want dad to have a debt over him.

You could repost in Legal.

Glad your father is ok now. Would he have to go into debt to pay it?

I think a and e.

And GP is free.

But anything else you have to pay.

So if transferred from a and e to an assessment ward you will have to pay from that point.

There are lots of companies who provide travel insurance for 80+ year olds.

Make a payment plan don't sell your car

What country is he from?

For future trips I mean.

This time contact them to make a payment plan.

https://www.google.com/search?q=travel+insurance+for+over+80+with+pre+existing+medical+conditions&client=ms-android-ee-uk-revc&sca_esv=583420096&ei=A71XZYC1L-WzhbIPlJCxqAI&oq=travel+insurance+for+over+80+&gs_lp=EhNtb2JpbGUtZ3dzLXdpei1zZXJwIh10cmF2ZWwgaW5zdXJhbmNlIGZvciBvdmVyIDgwICoCCAAyBRAAGIAEMgUQABiABDIFEAAYgAQyBRAAGIAEMgUQABiABDIFEAAYgAQyBRAAGIAEMgUQABiABEjoM1DTFljTFnACeAGQAQCYAU-gAU-qAQExuAEByAEA-AEBwgIKEAAYRxjWBBiwA8ICDRAAGIAEGIoFGLADGEPCAhkQLhiABBiKBRjHARjRAxjIAxiwAxhD2AEB4gMEGAAgQYgGAZAGDboGBAgBGAg&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-serp

Is there a contact number on the the bill? Give them a call and arrange a payment plan monthly. Or Google the number if one hasn’t been provided.

My dad's 84 and recently had prostate cancer and didn't have a problem getting insurance. Please have a look for next time (not that I'm anticipating him being ill) but if anything did happen the cost of repatriation could be 0000s

Can't he claim it from the country he is normally resident in? If you get treatment abroad and use your ghic card and have to pay you can claim it from the UK government so if he's in a reciprocal country the opposite might apply?

Check if there is a reciprocal health agreement. However he took a risk, is he unable to pay?

The bill is your Dad's, not yours, so they can't come after you for it. So don't sell your car. They won't come after you for it.

Also where did he travel from? There may be a way he can get it covered if it is within a certain area I. E. Europe.

They will probably take installments

Did he have the standard holiday insurance? Don't you claim it on that?

Health insurance is readily available for the over 80's. Why do you think you/he shouldn't have to pay it?

My aunt did the same

I didn't investigate much tbh because that's the bill...I don't understand why she wasn't insured.

my cousin then looked into it and the bill just had to be paid, I think he did it up front on a credit card.

Aunt is late 70s but lots of 80+ get insurance

she just kept saying "it's not a thing in my country".

Have you told your dad? If so what has he said? He should pay. If the shoe was on the other foot and you'd gone abroad without travel insurance the hospital wouldn't even look at you without any payment.
It will be your dad they should be chasing for payment though, are they trying to bill you?

Hi, I also live overseas and used the nhs a&e when we were visiting in the summer but they didn’t know how to charge me so no payment. From what I’ve heard from friends it depends on your nhs trust wether you get billed or not, but it’s true that non uk residents are not entitled to healthcare.
Does your dad have insurance for the country he lives in, check if it covers other countries and he can claim it back?

Your mistake was in saying he doesn’t live here. Just give your address and GP next time, they won’t check up.

Whilst I feel sorry for your dad being unwell, he should have had travel insurance

He needs to pay the bill somehow

And it's dishonest to say someone lives here when they don't

Great advice, let's get everyone who doesn't live here to do this shall we?

150% isn’t three times the cost! If the bill is 150% it’s one and a half times. If the bill is cost + 150% then he’s still only paying two and a half times the actual cost.
either way I’m sure he’d pay this or more in most countries without relevant insurance

I couldn't get upset about it if he paid into the system his whole working life and then retired abroad. He could have paid in a lot more than many people who are resident in this country.

Last time I was in A&E they got up my NHS record before I got anywhere near a doctor. I imagine if I didn't have actual details there would have been questions?