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Original poster

NHS bill for £1000

254 replies

ladle4455 · 17/11/2023 19:12

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.

OP posts:
Ballsbaill · 17/11/2023 19:46

Saschka · 17/11/2023 19:35

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

What the hell? It is the national health service not international.

He didn't want to pay for insurance and now he has to pay the cost of his gamble.

Why should the NHS pay for that. We'd not get any freebies abroad. We'd have to pay.

MonumentalLentil · 17/11/2023 19:47

mummyh2016 · 17/11/2023 19:38

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

Show quote history

Great idea, I can't get an appointment or even someone to answer the phone and I need tests done.

I have lived here all my life. So of course I want people who don't live here to get treatment when I can't.

mummyh2016 · 17/11/2023 19:48

@itsmyp4rty OP hasn't said he's paid into it all his life though has she? We know nothing about the OP and her dad, he might never have lived over here for all we know.

There would be uproar on here if someone posted saying next door had their family member over from abroad, attended hospital and was now trying to get out of paying for it.

mummyh2016 · 17/11/2023 19:49

@MonumentalLentil did you miss the raised eyebrow emoji?

greenacrylicpaint · 17/11/2023 19:52

where does your dad live?

when a visitor from a eu country had an accident, international office was by visitor's bed to take details.

those days primary care was still free with the ehic.

Vinrouge4 · 17/11/2023 19:54

Unfortunately that’s the rules. I had to pay in Germany and France for medical treatment. There might be a reciprocal arrangement with the country but otherwise you need to pay up

greenacrylicpaint · 17/11/2023 19:55

tbh 1k seems about right, if a little on the low side, for the treatment he received.

EasternStandard · 17/11/2023 19:57

No insurance?

BrightLightTonight · 17/11/2023 19:58

My mum gets travel health insurance - she is 93. Why should the British tax payer supplement your father, who doesn’t pay into the system.

greengreengrass25 · 17/11/2023 19:59

BrightLightTonight · 17/11/2023 19:58

My mum gets travel health insurance - she is 93. Why should the British tax payer supplement your father, who doesn’t pay into the system.

Yes exactly

BIWI · 17/11/2023 20:00

Gosh, it really is that time of year, isn't it?

HoraceTheCow · 17/11/2023 20:00

Why are you shocked there's a markup OP? If you use any service as a private patient there will be a markup. Nobody gives you anything for cost price, businesses exist to make a profit.

It's not only the cost of the x-ray either, it's the cost of the various people's time to triage him, examine him, operate the machine, interpret the results and impart those to him, as well as admin costs, cleaning costs and overheads of running and maintaining the building it's all housed in. Not at all surprised that the bill comes to £1000.

I'm glad they charged him. It's not free healthcare for anyone who wants to come here from abroad to avail themselves of it!

Insurance exists for a reason. Your dad chose not to have any, that's his choice to make and this is the end result. If you want to pay the bill for him that's very kind of you, but that's your decision.

Humbugg · 17/11/2023 20:00

Get insurance for him next time OP

EmmaEmerald · 17/11/2023 20:03

greenacrylicpaint · 17/11/2023 19:52

where does your dad live?

when a visitor from a eu country had an accident, international office was by visitor's bed to take details.

those days primary care was still free with the ehic.

But you only got what was free in that country

I was ill in France. My sister was asked to produce either a credit card or my insurance documents in the ambulance. Luckily she knew where they were in my bag.

the bill that came to me after was the bill you'd get as an uninsured person in France, like if you didn't have health insurance? Travel insurance paid it really fast (thank you M&S insurance).

I wasn't kept overnight so it wasn't horrific but we also had to extend our hotel and change Eurostar return date. All sorted by insurance but tbh it did put me off travel.

i can't fathom travelling without insurance and also think about repatriation costs. I don't care where I'm cremated but suppose you have to pay for medical airlift home?!

C152 · 17/11/2023 20:04

You don't say what country your dad visited from. Is he from somewhere that has a reciprocol healthcare agreement with the UK? Hospital admin teams don't always get things right; so it's worth checking whether the fee is actually due.

TomatoSandwiches · 17/11/2023 20:05

It's not your bill It's your father's and he should have taken out insurance, it isn't a new concept.

MonumentalLentil · 17/11/2023 20:07

mummyh2016 · 17/11/2023 19:49

@MonumentalLentil did you miss the raised eyebrow emoji?

No, I didn't miss it, I was agreeing, or thought I was...

2jacqi · 17/11/2023 20:07

@ladle4455 that is correct!! if a person from uk is injured or becomes ill in another country the treatment is not free! that is the reason tourists have holiday insurance even if they are going to stay with relatives in another country for a couple of months! you surely didnt think he would be treated for free, did you??? same goes for emergency dental treatment at dental hospitals when a foreigner goes for treatment, they have to pay. the NHS is funded by the uk taxpayers so why should we pay for non uk people to be treated?

vipersnest1 · 17/11/2023 20:08

Sorry, @ladle4455, I'm struggling to sympathise.
He is a visitor from another country. Expecting free treatment on the NHS is a big no-no unless the country of origin has an agreement that allows NHS treatment for free.
He didn't have appropriate insurance and at his age, he should have considered it.
For comparison, my DSis (much younger) came over some years back and fell while running, fracturing her wrist. The first words out of her mouth on arriving at A&E were 'I'm a Canadian citizen and I have insurance'.

FOTTFSOFTFOASM · 17/11/2023 20:08

Saschka · 17/11/2023 19:35

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

No, don't do this. It's not only illegal but it's morally disgusting.

The NHS can't cope with home-grown patients, never mind add-ons from overseas.

If you want to travel, get insurance. If you can't or won't get insurance and still travel, then you have to pay your way if it comes to it and you need emergency treatment.

OP, if you don't want your dad to pay, then yes you will have to suck it up and sell your car (unless you can convince them to take payment in instalments).

Other people go to the faff and expense of getting insurance. Why should you and your dad be the exception?

Atethehalloweenchocs · 17/11/2023 20:08

150% is not three times the cost? Ask for a payment plan.

Invisimamma · 17/11/2023 20:08

He used the service so he should have to pay. Just like if I went abroad without insurance I'd expect to pay.

If he can't afford £1k, how did he afford to come here for 3 months.

Neriah · 17/11/2023 20:08

Saschka · 17/11/2023 19:35

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

Do you always advise people to lie and commit fraud, or is that only when you think the "immigrant" deserves free medical care? Could you clarify which foreigners should be allowed to steal from us and which shouldn't? I assume that when you travel you don't get insurance because you plan to steal from that country given a chance?

Hector95 · 17/11/2023 20:11

Saschka · Today 19:35

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

Speechless! And people wonder why the NHS is in such a mess. Note - it’s the NHS, NATIONAL Health Service, not International or World Health Service!

AnotherBritInTheUSA · 17/11/2023 20:11

The NHS is only free if your main residence is in the UK. If not, you have to pay. I moved to the US when I was 35 and I still have property in England and pay tax there but I had to pay 150 pounds for treatment a few years ago at the local hospital eye clinic while I was home for a couple of weeks.

it isn’t possible to have pretended that your father was a resident. They can see from the computer records that he has no previous dealings with the NHS and don’t try to steal from the British taxpayer