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 have to pay for to see a GP. I did when I was living abroad but came home to visit family. Was charged £50 (about 6 years ago) , but could claim back on my health insurance from the country I was living. Could be free if you are living in a country that has sn agreement with the uk maybe.

Me too. I care deeply about the NHS sticking around, it should be free at the point of use, and preferably free of privatisation. For UK residents. NHS Trusts need to do this sort of thing at every opportunity to give it a hope in hell of surviving the next few decades.

Travel insurance might have cost more than the actual claim though.

Most standard insurance policies only cover trips for up to 1 month, so he’d need special long-term insurance, and unfortunately it’s not that unlikely for an 80 year old man to need to see a doctor within 3 months, so it wouldn’t be cheap.

Yeah because the NHS is just overflowing with money to spend on people who don’t live here

Saschka great advice, no wonder the NHS is in such a mess, don't you realise its not world health it's supposed to be for people living in the country

You do have to pay even if it’s an emergency.
If he comes over again he should really get health insurance. There are lots of companies that offer this for all ages including the over 80s

I would tell your dad to make the call, explain the situation and arrange for more time to pay.

Just because you went to A&E doesn't mean it was an emergency. A car crash resulting in an ambulance and life saving treatment is the sort of emergency they mean when it comes to free emergency care.

They now charge because of the amount of health tourism there has been. Some areas check more than others, usually those where there is a lot of health tourism. I'm not accusing your dad of health tourism by the way, just explaining the rationale.

Your dad will need to set up a repayment plan. They will follow up on the bill.

So cheat the system? Running NHS cost money, NHS is also struggling with money.

Agree.
Plus if you were found out OP that your dad didn’t actually live with you that’s fraud and you OP would be complicit.

Sometimes there’s a reciprocal agreement with the home country. Worth looking into.

Get a loan? I don’t understand why he couldn’t get insurance and sorry why should an ‘emergency’ be free?

the nhs is in its knees, it’s good to see they are claiming back when they should

Next time use an insurance broker or try somewhere like Saga (or whatever the equivalent is in his country). My 80-something PIL are able to get travel insurance despite having various conditions.

I have an annual travel insurance policy which costs me a couple of hundred quid a year and insures me for foreign holidays of up to 45 days per trip.

If i want to go away for longer (I'm retired) I just give the insurers a call, tell them i want (eg) two months of cover and arrange to pay an additional premium. It's not outrageously expensive.

I got taken in to A&E in Malaysia - I was in a life threatening condition, until my partner signed a form and paid the initial fee - no one was going to be doing anything! NHS is very generous here as it is. Why did he not have medical insurance?

That's unfortunate. Nothing more.
Can he afford it OP?

Travel insurance is easy to buy for trips up to 90 days; it's when they are longer that the lines start to blur a bit.

Tough shit.
Health insurance is straightforward for people 80+. My parents both have significant health complications and had managed to get international travel insurance. It's expensive, but possible.
Also 150% is not three times the bill.
I have no sympathy.
If he can afford to travel overseas for three months he can afford the bill.

He's not personally registered with a gp here, so that won’t work.

No where has @ladle4455 said she doesn't think it should be paid.
People saying he should have had insurance ?? Not helpful.
Also , no one knows if he's 'paid in all his life ' he may not be British.

bloody cheek yes he should pay

im 52 with health problems and my last trip to europe for a week cost me £400 for the week

i just would not go if i didnt have insurance It's not fair on anybody for me not to protect myself No wonder this country is in a mess so he cant afford health insurance but can afford a trip to the uk,sounds like somebody needs to sort their priorities out imo

I hope this thread serves as a warning to non-uk residents to take out travel insurance or make sure they understand what reciprocal arrangements are in place with their home country.

Years ago, I had an abusive arse from Canada giving out to me because his wife had had a heart attack and didn't have insurance. Because he had been born in the UK he thought they'd both chance it. Quite why his stupidity was my fault, I never understood.

I'm afraid I won't be sending OP any money.

She did say at the start that he had tried to get health insurance and at no point did she say she should not pay

150% of cost to residents is not 3 times, it is 1.5 times.

Rules are rules. Your father took a chance by not buying insurance, it costs a little money but helps in situations like these.

You have no other option but to ask your father to pay for it.

Assuming they are going to enforce it against your dad who has gone back to his country of residence, I wouldn't sweat it. It costs thousands and thousands of pounds to seek to serve proceedings on someone outside of jurisdiction, which requires permission from the court, and to then go on to enforce a judgment abroad and try to recover the judgment damages plus costs. No sensible lawyer would advise that they bother pursuing a £1k debt, it's just throwing good money after bad. Make it very clear to the trust that has sent you this letter that your father does not reside with you and that you are not authorised to accept service of proceedings.

(That's just practical advice. From a principled standpoint, medical tourism is very unfair to those who pay in. But you selling your car for this does nobody any good in the great scheme of things.)

Why shouldn't foreign citizens pay? The NHS isn't a charity for the world's sick and injured!

I had to pay at a hospital overseas for treatment for my infected leg, and they wouldn't do a blood test or any treatment until I'd paid!

The NHS is for British citizens. Foreigners are treated through their travel insurance, and if they don't have it, then they have to pay, of course!

The NHS should get payment up front before treatment like in some other countries. A bill send afterwards can be ignored and not enforced.