Medical tourism in England
Medical tourism in England is medical tourism involving the NHS in England. A proportion of this medical tourism is fraudulent.
Entrance to England
When non-EU migrants enter the UK and England, they have been requested to pay the Health Surcharge, which per family member per year is £200.[1] The Health Surcharge entitles them to 100% free health care on the NHS. Most travel insurance would cost more than this, and would mainly cover emergency care only. The surcharge was introduced in April 2015 and has raised £175m, with 450,000 surcharges issued in the first year. People from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea have to pay for this surcharge in cash only.[2]
Entrance to other EU countries
For non-EU migrants visiting other EU countries apart of the UK and Ireland, the non-EU migrants have to have a 30,000 euro visa requirement.
Payment to the NHS
When foreign tourists accessing the NHS were identified and charged, only 16% of these tourists paid the invoices, so the surcharge was introduced. The money for the NHS should be collected by an Overseas Visitor Manager[3], but many hospitals in England do not have one of these.
Maternity tourism
Many medical tourists to England come for pregnancy care, known as maternity or birth tourism. Birth tourism is also controversial because it gives an additional foreign citizenship to the child. The cost of a baby on the NHS is around £5,000, and double for a C-section. A special care baby unit or NICU costs much more. Patients are known to come to England, and the UK, for multiple or complicated births. The true figure of how many women come to give birth in England is not known.