When I went on holiday to Europe this year I carried alongside my passport a small plastic card that guarantees me medical treatment if I should fall ill. Without this, the costs of any hospital treatment could well be prohibitive.
The interchangeability of health care is a major benefit of membership of the EU and it was rather hoped that negotiations around Brexit would at least protect this for those living and travelling within the European Community. Alas that may well not be the case.
According to the Independent, this scheme is at fresh risk after it emerged that emergency legislation will be looking at other solutions instead. As with other bad news, the announcement of the Healthcare (International Arrangements) Bill, which is legislation never previously proposed by the government, was slipped out on a Friday afternoon:
An EHIC gives Britons the right to state-provided healthcare during a temporary stay in another EU or European Economic Area (EEA) country.
It covers treatment that is “medically necessary” on the same basis as enjoyed by a resident of that country, so either free or at a much-reduced cost.
Pre-existing medical conditions and routine maternity care are also covered, provided someone has not travelled specifically to give birth or seek treatment.
The EHIC scheme pays for 250,000 medical treatments each year and UK travellers have saved around £1.2bn since it began in 2006, according to figures released last year.
Without the cards, it is feared that the cost of travel insurance will soar, as insurers find themselves liable for medical treatment that is currently free of charge.
Now the emergency legislation has been unveiled by the department of health, to be rushed through before next March in case the Brexit talks fail.
It will “establish the legal basis to fund and implement vital reciprocal healthcare schemes and share necessary data after we leave the EU”, the department said.
Officials stressed the bill would still allow the EHIC scheme to survive after Brexit “subject to an agreement with the EU”.
But they admitted it was being brought forward because plans for it to rollover until the end of 2020, as part of the planned transition period, were now at risk.
What other benefits will we lose as a result of Brexit? It is funny how none of this was mentioned on the side of a bus by the Leave side during the referendum campaign.
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