Healthcare, How Would They Know?

OK, just wondering about something. Now, last year the UK government stopped the "residual" transfer of healthcare based on your NI payments. That used to give you up to 2 years or so free healthcare depending on your previous NI payments and covered you until you get state provided, but paid for, health cover. So far, so good (or not).

Now, when we moved over, my wife was of pensionable age (60 then) which meants we could get free healthcare, her as a pensioner and me a a beneficiary. Newcastle told us we would get EHIC cards valid for UK when the S1 forms were returned by Spain. This happened about a year later as Spain holds on to the forms and sends them off for payment in bulk. Newcastle also told me at the same time that we would still be covered under the NHS until those S1 forms were returned so not to worry about having no EHIC card.

Now, here's the thing. If there is no residual transfer for non-pensioners, then there is no S1 completed from either UK nor sent back by the Spanish authorities. You wouldn't, therefore, get a an EHIC valid for UK as they would still have you on the NHS system. How would they know you were no longer entitled to healthcare in UK or, more pertinently would you still be eligible for healthcare in UK under the NHS as you wouldn't have EHIC entitlement?

Anyone care to posit an opinion?

http://www.survivefrance.com/profiles/blogs/access-to-cross-border-healthcare

I don't think they would know if you were able to provide a UK address (whether your own or not). Also I understand the rules are changing and anyone in receipt of UK state retirement pension will be automatically entitled to receive healthcare in the UK  even if resident in another EU country.

This message was last edited by Poppyseed on 05/04/2015.

I am a resident of Spain (10 years) with a EHIC card issued by 'Newcastle' for all of Europe except Spain as I am covered by my Spanish SIP card whilst in Spain. When I am in the U.K. I have, on several occasions, had to use medical services there, both G.P. and Hospital. At the hospital they have only asked for my temp. address (my hotel) when using the facilities. At the G.P. I sometimes get a repeat prescription and this is done by being a 'temporary' visitor to the country. However when I spoke to Newcastle the first time I used a G.P. I was told that this was wrong and I only should show my EHIC card and get whatever medication my Spanish doctor prescribed even if the local G.P. was not allowed to prescribe that medicine on possible cost basis.

Therefore it looks like that even if you are non resident in the U.K. you can still receive medical care (so long as you speak English!) The system in the U.K. is not set up to check before use at the hospital so if you are a U.K. national you will still get treated, unless you know better..........

One of my friends lives not to far from you Bobaol, San Luis, and when they come back to the UK for about 2 months in the summer, she has regular visits to the Doctor in Thetford Norfolk never ever had any problem.

I had reason to visit my regular Doctor some years ago for something very minor, he then told me that he shouldn't be seeing me as I had moved about 15 miles away to another village, he did see me but said this was the last time and to register in my new village with its Doctor.

How he knew I don't know and how the system works beats me also.

This message was last edited by windtalker on 06/04/2015.

This message was last edited by windtalker on 06/04/2015.

They are slowly getting more organised, I'm afraid!  I was under the transitional S1 system, then began to move onto the Spanish NHS via the Convenio Especiale (I am under pensionable age).  The final step in getting into the Spanish NHS was to get the "legislation letter" from Newcastle to show I had no recourse to the UK NHS as a resident of Spain.  When I rang them to get it, she found me on the system, knew when my S1 expired and all that, and then said "Oh hang on, you WERE registered at HMRC as being resident in Spain, but you used a dentist in the UK 9 months ago so you have been transferred back to being registered in the UK so you are not entitled to the legislation letter."  

The thing is, that although it is slow, every episode of healthcare eventually gets sent to the central NHS so that the GP or dentist or pharmacy can get their payments.  Before going to the dentist on a UK visit, I had phoned Newcastle to ask what to do,they had told me to get the dentist to phone them and the practice would receive a fax giving them permission to treat me as an overseas resident.  They would then get paid, and my record would be correct.  Trouble is, it was a little village surgery in Dorset and the receptionist kept saying "Oh I don't want to make problems", and despite me stressing that there would be problems if she DIDN'T do it, she refused, as did the dentist when i explained to him!

And there it was on my record, nine months later, almost stopping me getting into the Spanish NHS!  In the end I burst into tears on the phone to Newcastle, explained that I had tried to make the receptionist do it, and in the end the nice lady in newcastle admitted it was a training problem and that small surgeries don't know what to do, and she sent me the legislation letter AND sorted the documents so that the HMRC had the correct info.  Phew!

So that's a long way of saying - YES THEY WILL KNOW!  And in the long run it could have repercussions.

I travel regularly between several EU countries but not the UK. Try obtaining refunds for medical treatment in a country you are not registered in via the EHIC. Many are now demanding you pay the costs up front and say claim a refund in the issuing country of the card. In my case the UK.

It is a nightmare. I have received conflicting advice from all the institutions involved and have given up. Basically you have to sustain the costs yourself or have travel insurance that will cover you.

So much for cross boarder healthcare in the EU. It works if you stay in one place not otherwise

My point, tamara, was that in your case you'd informed the health authorities in UK so you could get the residual transfer. You would, therefore, be on the system. Now that this residual transfer has been scrapped, how would they know that you had moved and were no longer on the NHS system? As I mentioned, we didn't get our EHIC valid outside Spain for almost a year after we'd gone onto the system and were informed we could still use the NHS until then even though we were on the Spanish system with healthcards. Now, if you have no reason to inform Newcastle about this as you won't get any cover, surely you would still be on the NHS system?

And, yes, even though we only have EHICs, on the one occasion my wife had to see a doctor in UK as her prescription had run out, she simply filled in a GMS2 form and was told to put my mother's address down. The receptionist didn't have a scooby about the EHIC. Doctors used to get paid for each individual GMS2 (temporary resident) but, since 2004, they get paid a certain amount regardless of how many temp res they treat so it makes no difference to them if they submit the form or not. It's only the NHS that claims the money back from the home country that this would affect.

Right, Bobaol, good point!

Hi,

I think, Health care efficiency do not show the cause-and-effect connections that they declare.

I want to move to Spain and want to gather more info about the life insurance.

Hi Diana

Here are two websites to look at.

http://www.spainmadesimple.com/insurance/life/

https://www.angloinfo.com/how-to/spain/money/pensions-wills/life-insurance