New figures show the NHS is paying out millions more for EU healthcare than it is claiming back from EU countries.
In what one MP described as a "scandalous failure", it has emerged that the UK pays more than £670m to EU countries for Brits' healthcare abroad, while claiming back less than £50m from the EU, even though there are significantly more EU citizens in the UK than UK citizens in the EU.
Under the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) - countries can claim back health costs from other EU countries if their citizens use medical services abroad.
The new figures reveal that nearly every country claims more from the UK than the UK claims back from the rest of the EU.
For example the UK pays France £147,685,772, but France only pays UK £6,730,292 and the UK pays Germany £25,873,954 but Germany only pays the UK £2,189,664.
Even in countries such as Poland where net migration is massively towards the UK, the discrepancy is four-fold in Poland's favour.
MP John Mann, who obtained the figures in a parliamentary question, told Sky News that "logically the UK should be receiving more than it pays out".
He estimates "the real cost is a billion pounds a year".
No comments:
Post a Comment