New plans unveiled to charge foreign NHS users for care

The government has unveiled its latest plans to charge migrants and visitors from overseas for accessing NHS care.

Set to be implemented in 2017, the changes would see migrants and visitors from abroad paying for care from GPs, accident and emergency care and ambulance services, with the aim of generating 500 million pounds a year by 2018.

This would come in addition to the current charges for foreigners for non-urgent operations, inpatient treatment and follow-up care received as an outpatient, and is designed to generate money to be reinvested in frontline care.

A consultation on the proposals has been launched this week and will run for three months.

Health secretary Jeremy Hunt said: "We want to make sure that everyone makes a fair contribution to services, by extending charging to make sure visitors pay for the care they receive."

The British Medical Association has responded negatively to the proposals, saying they will create extra bureaucracy, sow confusion over entitlements and deter people with serious health needs from seeing a doctor.