NHS ‘failing to recover targeted costs from charging overseas patients’

The government is failing to recover the amount of money it was aiming for by implementing charges for overseas patients.

A National Audit Office report has indicated that the Department of Health's stated ambition of recovering up to 500 million pounds of overseas visitor income a year by 2017-18 is unlikely to be met, based on current trends.

Launched in 2014, the programme extended the scope of charging for overseas patients, while implementing existing regulations more effectively. Only 73 million pounds was recovered through these channels in 2012-13.

Current trends and data indicate that, within the existing cost recovery rules, the amount charged is forecast to reach 346 million pounds by 2017-18 – an improvement on previous levels, but substantially short of the targeted goal.

Part of the problem is that charging regulations are complex, with many staff having to rely on their own judgement in determining whether a patient is chargeable, often based on limited information.

Amyas Morse, head of the National Audit Office, said: "If current trends continue and the charging rules remain the same, the department … faces a potential shortfall in the region of 150 million pounds."

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