Wendy WilliamsEXPATS dividing their time between Britain and Spain should be able to claim back the cost of Spanish medical treatment on the NHS from 2013.
The Cross Border Healthcare directive, which affects all EU states, will allow patients to have elective surgery at a state hospital wherever they live instead of travelling back to the UK.
Implementation of the move – originally scheduled for 2011 – has been hampered by disputes between countries. But it is now expected that all states will sign up by 2013.
A sticking point has been whether patients using the proposed system should be reimbursed in full. The UK has successfully resisted full repayment to the patient whatever the bill.
Patients will be reimbursed only to the cost of the procedure in their home state.
In addition, a doctor in the patient’s home country will need to approve treatment in advance.
Specialised treatments will be subject to more rigorous advanced approval, and organ transplants and long-term care are excluded.
“Free healthcare”? Only people who do not pay tax believe that healthcare, education, pensions, housing and so on are “Free”.
If we are all European citizens, and supposedly working towards a truly united Europe, then this should have happened years ago. Anyway, good to see that things finally seem to be moving in a a forward direction.
The real problem I have experienced is that some Spanish surgeons just do not want to operate on non-Spanish people.They have given every possible excuse , in order to not allow me a knee replacement.Its been 2 years now since I first attended the hospital and in the end I elected to get the op done in the uk. Very unhappy that they have given me the run around for all that time. Completely uncaring…