Free and based on need? Not for everyone

One thing we like to boast of about the NHS is that health care is free – “at the point of delivery” – and based on patients’ clinical need, not their ability to pay. But that is no longer true for everyone. The NHS Constitution now says that “NHS services are free of charge, except in limited circumstances sanctioned by Parliament”. Those ‘limited circumstances’ include an “immigration health surcharge” for people from outside Europe coming to live and work in the UK on a temporary visa. From December, this will mean paying £400 per person, for each year of the temporary visa, in advance and on top of the cost of their visa. The surcharge was introduced in 2015 at £200 a year. The last Conservative Party manifesto said they intended to increase it to £600. So from next month if someone comes to work in the UK on a three-year-visa, with a partner and two children, they will have to find an extra £4,800 (£400 x 4 persons x 3 years) on top of their visa fees. For many UNISON members and others, that means paying extra to provide key public services and fill in the holes in a stretched workforce … while also paying for the services through taxes and national insurance, just like everybody else they work alongside. And this is happening as we celebrate the 70th anniversary of the NHS and of the arrival of the Empire Windrush – bringing migrants from the Caribbean to help rebuild the post-war economy. The Windrush generation and those who followed ...
Source: UNISON Health care news - Category: UK Health Authors: Tags: Blogs News campaign health health care health charges NHS Source Type: news