Gareth Thomas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2014-06-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of European Economic Area nationals who received NHS treatment in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13 and (d) 2013-14; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison

The following information is not held by the Department:

– income health trusts in each region or nation of the United Kingdom received for the cost of treating European Economic Area (EEA) nationals;

– income each NHS trust in each region of England claimed back for the cost of treating EEA nationals;

– the number of EEA nationals who received NHS treatment;

– the cost of treating EEA nationals who received NHS treatment in each region of the UK.

Claims to and from EEA countries are managed centrally by the Department on behalf of the whole of the UK. Income claimed from EEA countries is based on both data collected from trusts and arrangements in place with other EEA countries under bilateral agreements.

The Department does hold information on claims to the UK from other EEA countries for healthcare costs. However, claims to the UK from other EEA countries are not based on nationality – they are based on whether the UK is judged to be responsible for someone’s healthcare costs, for example due to residency in the UK or, for state pensioners, someone with a UK state pension who has retired to a different EEA country. It is therefore not possible to provide a breakdown of costs based on UK nationality.