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Written question asked by Lord Laird (Crossbench), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Darzi of Denham (Labour) on Thursday, 30 April 2009.

Health: Former UK Residents

Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government which countries provide annual payments to fund health treatment of those in the United Kingdom who previously worked in that country; under what arrangements; and how the amounts paid are calculated.
Answer

Under European Union Regulations (1408/71), European Economic Area (EEA) member states reimburse each other for the cost of providing healthcare to each other's tourists, workers, pensioners and the dependants of both groups. Under these regulations, payments are made on either an actual or average cost basis, depending on the category of the individual. The following table shows the breakdown of claims by the United Kingdom against each member state in 2007-08. There are no similar arrangements with regard to non-EEA countries.

EEA Medical Costs: Claims by UK Against EEA Member States 2007-08
Country Actual Costs Claims Lump Sum Claims Total
Austria £486,000 £224,000 £710,000
Belgium £2,528,000 £392,000 £2,920,000
Bulgaria £0 £0 £0
Cyprus £0 £0 £0
Czech Republic £0 £0 £0
Denmark (Waiver) £0 £0 £0
Estonia (Waiver) (2) £0 £0 £0
Finland (3) £0 £0 £0
France £5,306,000 £281,000 £5,586,000
Germany £16,000 £1,261,000 £1,277,000
Greece £78,000 £12,000 £90,000
Hungary (Waiver) (3) £11,000 £0 £11,000
Iceland £0 £0 £0
Ireland £9,413,000 £12,211,000 £21,624,000
Italy £1,203,000 £4,091,000 £5,294,000
Latvia £0 £0 £0
Liechtenstein £0 £0 £0
Lithuania £0 £0 £0
Luxembourg (4) £0 £0 £0
Malta (Waiver) (3) £0 £0 £0
Netherlands £1,251,000 £1,554,000 £2,805,000
Norway (Waiver) (3) £0 £0 £0
Poland £0 £0 £0
Portugal £43,000 £10,000 £54,000
Romania £0 £0 £0
Slovakia £0 £0 £0
Slovenia £236,000 £0 £236,000
Spain £4,061,000 £55,000 £4,116,000
Sweden £899,000 £260,000 £1,159,000
Switzerland £0 £67,000 £67,000
£25,500,000 £20,400,000 £45,900,000

"Notes""(1) Source: 2007-08 Resource Accounting and Budgeting (RAB) exercise. Totals are based on estimates of the costs of European Economic Area (EEA) healthcare claims made annually for the purposes of provisions made in the Department of Health accounts in accordance with Treasury resource accounting rules.""(2) excepting Article 22.1c (patient referral) & Article 55.1c (industrial injury) claims.""(3) excepting Article 22.1 c (patient referral) claims.""(4) Previously waiver, regulations apply from 30 June 2008""(5) Totals for individual countries are rounded to nearest £1,000.""(6) Sub totals may not add up to rounded overall totals due to rounding" "(1) Source: 2007-08 Resource Accounting and Budgeting (RAB) exercise. Totals are based on estimates of the costs of European Economic Area (EEA) healthcare claims made annually for the purposes of provisions made in the Department of Health accounts in accordance with Treasury resource accounting rules.""(2) excepting Article 22.1c (patient referral) & Article 55.1c (industrial injury) claims.""(3) excepting Article 22.1 c (patient referral) claims.""(4) Previously waiver, regulations apply from 30 June 2008""(5) Totals for individual countries are rounded to nearest £1,000.""(6) Sub totals may not add up to rounded overall totals due to rounding" "(2) excepting Article 22.1c (patient referral) & Article 55.1c (industrial injury) claims.""(3) excepting Article 22.1 c (patient referral) claims.""(4) Previously waiver, regulations apply from 30 June 2008""(5) Totals for individual countries are rounded to nearest £1,000.""(6) Sub totals may not add up to rounded overall totals due to rounding" "(3) excepting Article 22.1 c (patient referral) claims.""(4) Previously waiver, regulations apply from 30 June 2008""(5) Totals for individual countries are rounded to nearest £1,000.""(6) Sub totals may not add up to rounded overall totals due to rounding" "(4) Previously waiver, regulations apply from 30 June 2008""(5) Totals for individual countries are rounded to nearest £1,000.""(6) Sub totals may not add up to rounded overall totals due to rounding" "(5) Totals for individual countries are rounded to nearest £1,000.""(6) Sub totals may not add up to rounded overall totals due to rounding" "(6) Sub totals may not add up to rounded overall totals due to rounding"

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
2969; 710 c58-9WA
Session
2008-09
Related items
Health: Former UK Residents
Monday, 18 May 2009
Written questions
House of Lords
Health: Former UK Residents
Monday, 18 May 2009
Written questions
House of Lords
Subjects
Health services Finance Reciprocal arrangements European economic area
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk