bobd22

Fred the UK is in my opinion purposely trying to make the procedure appear difficult to try and convince the brexiteers that they are clamping down on freedom of movement. As you say the requirement was always available to them before the referendum but they chose to ignore that but in some warped way try and blame the EU. The whole fiasco is smoke and mirrors unfortunately we are caught up as pawns in their game of political nonsense.

1sexsmith

I agree . The UK are trying to impose obligations on immigrants so as to appear tough on immigration as the Government believe it is a vote winner. Already people are starting to moan that the new laws allowing immigrants after Brexit to have temporary residence for 3 years is somehow a betrayal!. Problem is the political parties in England know that maybe voters stupidly believe immigration is the impediment to their lasting happiness and they are all trying to impress them by talking tough. It's a terrible shame in that no one really wins and everyone actually loses but that appears to be how England wishes to live.

bobd22

A certain section of people in England !

thegolfer

Update on Friends in Granada, they went armed with their Residencia, Padron, (both since 2011)passports (all copied in quadruplicateto get universal healthcare and get on the system back in late December. Finally yesterday they received their Tarjeta Sanitaria's. They are early retirees aged 60 and 57. Happy bunnies

thegolfer

Update: They do get medicines at a heavily discounted price also. He was prescribed some medication and later presented his card at the Farmacia and the prescription was on their computer and he paid a fraction of the cost.

1sexsmith

There is one obvious question here but I will let someone else deal with it.

Fred James

thegolfer

Thats great thank you for that very informative.

1sexsmith

Maybe I am wrong but if they are very high income earners does that not affect their access to healthcare?

Fred James

It does affect the discount they get off prescriptions, but I am not aware that it affects access to the NHS for free. After all, they are paying very high taxes and NI.

1sexsmith

But if they have been resident since 2011 and haven't had free healthcare then they must have two incomes of over 100,000€.

1sexsmith

Maybe im confused. I thought that persons resident before 2012 with incomes less than 100,000 € received free healthcare . So surely they should have got free healthcare before now? Or is it that prescriptions are cheaper?

Fred James

There is some info about the new universal health care law on the CAB site. https://www.citizensadvice.org.es/ap...-july-27-2018/ I seem to remember that the income limits did apply to some of the previous ways of getting health care but it's pretty complicated.

Also, the recent promise of universal healthcare is now under question as although a Royal Decree was recently passed, the government decided to pass a law encompassing it. Now, we no longer have a government so nobody knows when and if the law will now be passed. Confusion reigns again!

Notdunroamin

As a point of order it's a misnomer that the NHS pays Spain (or other EU states) on a 'per head/per annum' basis. That used to be the case but it changed some time back and now the NHS is billed for the actual cost of treatment based on 'per patient/per incidence'.

Info here: https://www.parliament.uk/business/p...6-02-19/27364/

Individuals may if they wish submit a freedom of information request for an account of what the NHS has paid for them personally.

The large disparities in payments are due to the basic fact that (uniquely) NHS care is based solely on legal residency therefore for the vast majority who, under freedom of movement have a right to reside in UK, the question of back charging simply does not arise.

On the other hand however most EU countries require some sort of qualification over and above residency. Typically of course that is the S1 but those not entitled to that will have make some form of financial contribution or rely on private cover.

The numbers are doubly disingenuous because they are simplistic and fail to take into account the NI contributions EU citizens working in the UK and their employers make and I suspect if those were factored in the balance could easily switch in favour of the UK/NHS.

BTW and to keep it in further in perspective, albeit some two years old the sum of £233m in the table from the link represents almost exactly 2/3rds of the much hyped (but totally bogus) £350m per week the UK was supposed to save with Brexit !

Fred James

I think you will find that for people covered by the S1 arrangement, that still applies.