UK government accused of whopping lie regarding cost of migrant health care to the NHS

The government has been accused of “scaremongering” for exaggerating the scale of NHS fraud committed by migrants, HuffPost UK can reveal.

Official government publications have stated fraud involving Europeans charging the NHS for care amounts to almost £19 million a year by mis-use of the European Health Insurance Card.

The blue card is issued by the NHS to British people to pay for emergency treatment in continental Europe.

The figure that led to a series of tabloid stories about foreigners exploiting “loopholes”, with the cost apparently reaching £200m over ten years.

But a Freedom of Information response from the Department of Health shows the NHS’s fraud division has only discovered potential seven cases of fraud in the last three years, and just two definite cases.

The Whitehall department said it has “not yet been established” the cost of the fraud. But a previous HuffPost UK FOI request revealed that five cases of fraud unearthed between 2010 and 2015 cost just £712.56.


The figures are in stark contrast to the NHS Counter Fraud Authority saying that the estimated cost of European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) fraud was £18.7m in 2015-16.

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/migrant-nhs-fraud-european-health-insurance-card_uk_5be0d4d8e4b09d43e3220496

Anti-immigration nutjobs literally have no shame.

*THE Ben Reilly* wrote:

The government has been accused of “scaremongering” for exaggerating the scale of NHS fraud committed by migrants, HuffPost UK can reveal.

Official government publications have stated fraud involving Europeans charging the NHS for care amounts to almost £19 million a year by mis-use of the European Health Insurance Card.

The blue card is issued by the NHS to British people to pay for emergency treatment in continental Europe.

The figure that led to a series of tabloid stories about foreigners exploiting “loopholes”, with the cost apparently reaching £200m over ten years.

But a Freedom of Information response from the Department of Health shows the NHS’s fraud division has only discovered potential seven cases of fraud in the last three years, and just two definite cases.

The Whitehall department said it has “not yet been established” the cost of the fraud. But a previous HuffPost UK FOI request revealed that five cases of fraud unearthed between 2010 and 2015 cost just £712.56.


The figures are in stark contrast to the NHS Counter Fraud Authority saying that the estimated cost of European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) fraud was £18.7m in 2015-16.

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/migrant-nhs-fraud-european-health-insurance-card_uk_5be0d4d8e4b09d43e3220496

Anti-immigration nutjobs literally have no shame.

Something doesn't quite add up here. The European Health Card that I once had entitled me, as a visitor to Europe to certain medical services in the other EU states and I assume that the card itself had a reciprocal purpose -to entitle European visitors to the UK to similar services.

That was surely nothing whatsoever to do with immigrants, and particularly those who were legal entrants satisfying the refugee, asylum and essential work categories. They automatically qualify for free NHS services so long as they register; not too onerous or unreasonable requirement I would suggest.

In fact legal immigrants with the appropriate professional qualifications actually working in our NHS are absolutely essential; the surgeon who recently sorted out my serious heart problem and gave me a few more years of life was, I believe, an Iraqi.

However, visitors to this country, including tourists, are notorious for getting NHS treatment and services and then leaving the country without paying their legitimate bills. A few years ago we had a case of an African woman from a wealthy family coming here for IVF treatment that resulted in multiple births who stayed here for ages at public expense while she and her babies were treated and cared for, and who then buggered off back to Africa leaving the health service with a six figure debt.

And who had to pay for that? The so-called "anti-immigration nutjobs" who have to pay for it all through their taxes.

+1

Y'all can refute public records all you want, but that is what they say.

The huff and puff is less believable than the "Sunday sport" newspaper...!!!

Considering this represents around 1-2% of fraud within the NHS. Let alone where just because you have not found evidence enough to prosecute and convict within this one small sphere of NHS fraud. Its an estimate of how much this fraud costs and clearly its hard to obtain convictions for or prove. 

Shows actually its the huffington post that is being very misleading here.

Fraud cost the NHS at least 1 billion a year

What is telling here, is no other major media source has taken up this claim, including the left wing media sources

*THE Ben Reilly* wrote:Y'all can refute public records all you want, but that is what they say.

You appear not to recognise the difference between "immigrants", who enter countries either legally as refugees and asylum seekers or illegally (frequently as clients of traffickers) in search of what they feel will be a better life, and "visitors" who include foreigners from the EU and beyond who come here either to work or as tourists.

I have held an EU blue card in the past, and have traveled to most countries in Europe either as part of my job or as a tourist.

That didn't make me an "immigrant" and a target of your mythical "nutjobs."

Ben is just trying an old lefty trick, a trick that has been seen and rumbled so many times now in the UK that even the leftys here have given up trying to pull it...


Bait, twist & conflate...

Tommy Monk wrote:Ben is just trying an old lefty trick, a trick that has been seen and rumbled so many times now in the UK that even the leftys here have given up trying to pull it...


Bait, twist & conflate...

Dude, I didn't write the story. Take it up with the reporter.

So... you are just a brain dead repeater of bullshit...?


Without a care for the facts...?


As long as you can throw some shit that might stick politically...?



And you call yourself a journalist...???


Have you no integrity, man...???

It is a fact that hospital waiting times have increased over the last few years and there are less social houses available. We see it.

On the plus side, Eastern European’s are pretty bloody nice people. I work with loads of them and I find them warm, generous and hard-working.

I don't understand that article. Isn't it talking about Brits who have one of these cards?

eddie wrote:It is a fact that hospital waiting times have increased over the last few years and there are less social houses available. We see it.

On the plus side, Eastern European’s are pretty bloody nice people. I work with loads of them and I find them warm, generous and hard-working.

Mass immigration is the cause of the problems!!!


And I posted a report the other day that shows that low skilled low wage immigrants actually cost the UK taxpayer about £3500 a year each...


So don't babble on about how any of them are working hard and making such a valuable contribution to the country...


Also... before you or anyone else tries to cry 'racism' or 'xenophobia' etc... I also know plenty of east Europeans... And I have high regard for majority of them... but the economics simply doesn't stack up for majority of them and the millions of other foreigners to be here... it is causing far more problems in so many parts of public services and infrastructure than is worth...

And Eddie... I think you'll find that most people who work, are 'warm generous & hard working'...


So, it matters not, that you know some people at work, who are 'warm generous & hard working', who also happen to be east European...


I bet every single one of them, each knows a fellow east European, who is a scum bag!!!