The government is to cover the cost of EU holiday healthcare for people who require routine hospital treatment such as dialysis and chemotherapy in the event that there is no Brexit deal to replace the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) scheme.
The health minister Edward Argar revealed the plan in a written statement to parliament on Thursday. The arrangements will last for 12 months from 1 January 2021.
The scheme has been welcomed by Kidney Care UK, which has been campaigning for health insurance cover for kidney patients who need daily treatment and faced prohibitively expensive travel insurance next year.
Argar said: “This government will introduce the scheme with the intention that it is used by individuals who are certain to require treatment while abroad, such as regular dialysis, oxygen therapy or certain types of chemotherapy. The government recognises that these ongoing, routine treatment costs can be expensive and makes travelling abroad extremely challenging for many people.”
It means British citizens who need life-sustaining treatment, equipment and medication can now make travel plans for next year at no extra cost. It is not clear whether it will apply to people undergoing all forms of treatment.
Argar said people applying for the scheme “must be ordinarily resident in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland and entitled to the treatment on the NHS”. He added: “Individuals will need to work with their NHS clinician to agree their treatment requirements and confirm they meet the criteria in the scheme.”
The government is expected to seek bilateral deals with EU countries popular with British tourists in the event of no overall deal on EHIC when Brexit trade talks end.
Argar said: “The government will assess its options for reciprocal healthcare if we do not achieve an EU-wide arrangement. This includes the possibility of negotiating bilateral arrangements on social security coordination, including reciprocal healthcare, with individual EU member states.”
Fiona Loud, the policy director for Kidney Care UK, said it could help up to 30,000 people on dialysis in the UK. She said travel was “greatly valued” to kidney patients and their families.
“Having a break means the world to them; now the vaccination programme has started, this is something to look forward to,” Loud said. “We welcome this move for patients and the reassurance it gives, but need arrangements to be made so people don’t have to pay in advance.”
