As the date for the final implementation of the Brexit vote draws near, the health care entitlements of thousands of expatriates on both sides of the English Channel remains unclear. Currently, the British government reportedly plans to continue supplying National Health Service care for citizens of European Union nations who resided in the UK prior to the March 29th deadline. People who moved to the British Isle from Europe after that date will have to pay for their own coverage.
Reviewing Reciprocal Health Care Privileges
In the European Union, the European Economic Area, and Switzerland, health planners apparently don’t anticipate furnishing any EU mandated health care coverage for UK nationals. The termination of coverage applies whether or not UK passport holders became residents before or after the March 29th deadline. This policy may impose considerable hardship upon some Britons who have in the past received health care treatments for chronic health conditions while working or studying on the European mainland.
The British government in recent weeks has begun negotiating with individual EU nations to make arrangements for reciprocal health care coverage. To date, officials have reached a firm arrangement only with Norway, a member of the European Economic Area. Both Norway and the UK maintain socialized medical services, providing extensive free health care services for their respective citizens.
The UK National Health Service
The United Kingdom created its National Health Service, the NHS, shortly after the end of WWII. This national medical system furnishes universal free health care services for citizens. Covered individuals pay national insurance payments and taxes.
Although widely criticized as a bureaucracy, and sometimes understaffed, the massive NHS maintains a high approval rating within the British Isle. It employs an estimated 1.7 million people. The NHS covers a full range of health and wellness services (including hospitalizations and surgeries). Qualified patients in the UK often receive medical equipment (such as wheelchairs), free of charge from the National Health Service. (By contrast, these types of expenses usually constitute out-of-pocket expenditures in the United States and other nations maintaining privatized health care systems.)
Overhauling Regulatory Frameworks
Some concern exists in the UK that the departure of the UK from the European Union will create problems for the NHS. In March, 2017 the British government initiated Article 50, a provision setting forth the protocols for leaving the EU. In the wake of the changes involving health care coverage, some British nationals residing in European nations may choose to return to the UK in order to receive universal health care coverage (previously available to them in European host nations). An influx of returning citizens with serious health conditions might pose a challenge for the NHS.
Additionally, during 2019, as the separation of the UK from the EU moves forward, medical professionals involved in approving and regulating drugs will also encounter changes. The European Medicines Agency anticipates relocating from London to Amsterdam in January, 2019. Some Members of Parliament reportedly hoped to continue to permit the UK to remain within this regulatory structure; however, it now appears lawmakers will need to develop alternative mechanism for approving new drugs and treatment protocols.
The NHS Prepares For Brexit Deadlines
In anticipation of the full implementation of Brexit, the NHS has implemented plans to stockpile a six weeks allocation of many drugs and medical supplies. Items covered by the directive include syringes, dressings, and surgical gloves. The UK imports many of these items from European Union nations.
Although some 155,000 staff members at the NHS hold citizenship in EU nations, concerns expressed in the media about an alleged shortage of medical personnel in the British Isles due to the implementation of Brexit have proven largely unwarranted. The large size of the NHS means the current shortage of 108,000 positions has not disrupted service. Nevertheless, a report released by the Public Accounts Committee in mid-December did caution that new immigration policies might potentially impact health care available through the National Health Service.
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