Health tourists’ NHS loophole: EU nationals don’t need special card - or even any ID - to get free treatment, minister admits

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People from other EU countries can register with a GP and access health treatment for free in Britain without a European Health Insurance Card or any form of identification, a minister has revealed.

GPs have also been told by ministers that they are legally barred from stopping anyone from registering even if they cannot prove who they are or that they have a right to free healthcare.

Critics said the revelations, which came from a minister’s statement in Parliament, showed how lax controls are on Britain’s ‘open door’ NHS.

European Health Insurance Card: This allows anyone from a country in the European Economic Area and Switzerland to receive healthcare in Britain if they fall ill

An EHIC card allows anyone from a country in the European Economic Area and Switzerland to receive healthcare in Britain if they fall ill. The EEA is the EU plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.

In theory, Britain should then claim back the cost of the treatment from their home country. But vast sums are believed to go unrecovered, often because health service staff do not ask for identification.

The most recent figures – for 2013/14 – show Britain claimed back only £50.3million from other European countries for healthcare claimed by their nationals in this country. That is compared with the £750million the Government handed over to EU states to pay for treatment for Britons abroad.

This ‘health tourism gap’ means the UK is now paying out £15 for the healthcare costs of Britons who fall ill abroad for every £1 it gets back for NHS treatment of European visitors.

Ministers have always claimed they are trying to shut loopholes and claim more money back from ‘health tourists’ using the NHS.

But in reply to a question lodged in Parliament, health minister Alistair Burt made clear how easy it is to access free healthcare.

He was asked by Labour MP Frank Field whether a visitor to the UK from any other EEA country who does not have an EHIC card can register as a temporary patient with a GP practice and receive treatment free of charge.

Response: But in reply to a question lodged in Parliament, health minister Alistair Burt made clear how easy it is to access free healthcare

Mr Burt replied that holding an EHIC card is ‘not required’ to register with a GP and that practices ‘cannot legally refuse’ to register any applicant even if they don’t have any identification. He also warned GPs against only asking migrants for ID, saying it could be ‘discriminatory’ and that they should ask all patients.

Mr Burt wrote: ‘Anyone can seek to register as an NHS patient with a GP practice by approaching one directly and submitting a written and signed application.

‘A practice cannot legally refuse to register someone because they do not possess identification or documents. Individual GP practices can have a policy where they ask prospective patients to provide identification, however they must ensure that this is applied to all patients and not done in a discriminatory manner.’

Last night Mr Field, who is backing the campaign for Britain to leave the EU, said the answer exposed Britain’s ‘open door’ to EU migrants seeking healthcare.

‘It is totally proper and legitimate for GPs to refuse access to their practice and thereby in to hospitals, for people who cannot prove who they are and whether they have got an EHIC card,’ he said.

‘Once you are in the doctor’s practice you can get your treatment. This shows show inadequate systems are and David Cameron’s renegotiation was. This was never even raised.’

The law states that GP services and any treatment deemed urgent or emergency is free for everyone – regardless of whether they pay taxes including maternity care and treatment in A&E.

But anyone who does not live long term in the UK is meant to pay for all other hospital treatment. In reality, many patients get away without being charged because NHS staff assume that once they are registered with a GP and have a referral letter, they are entitled to free care.

The NHS advises Britons that Ehic cards, which can be obtained for free, give them ‘the right to access state-provided healthcare’ during temporary stays in other EEA countries and Switzerland.

What treatment you can secure, and whether you will get it for free or at reduced cost, depends on rules in the country you are visiting. Even if Britons do not have their Ehic card with them, they can obtain a Provisional Replacement Certificate to prove they are entitled to a card, which can be sent to the hospital or surgery visited.

Last year a Daily Mail investigation revealed how the Ehic card also allowed EU nationals to bill the NHS for expensive healthcare they receive in their own countries.

By obtaining an EHIC card from the NHS, they can return to their home countries and use them to have medical treatment, with the bill passed to the NHS.

A Department of Health spokesman said: ‘This Government is determined to make sure our NHS isn’t abused – and while EHICs have never been needed to register with a GP, we were the first to introduce tough measures to clamp down on migrants accessing care and have consulted on extending charging to other areas of healthcare including GP services.

‘We are focused on this issue and will soon be publishing further plans to recover up to £500million a year by 2018 from visitors using the NHS.’