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Brexit expat retirees 'may cost NHS millions'

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    Brexit expat retirees 'may cost NHS millions'

    Young healthy Europeans to leave the UK in exchange for non-working OAPs in need of health care. £350 million a week ought to cover it.

    Brexit, the gift that just keeps on giving.


    Tens of thousands of expat pensioners may return to the UK to use the NHS after Brexit - unless a deal can be done to let them keep receiving care abroad, a think tank has warned.

    The Nuffield Trust estimates the cost of treating them - on home soil, rather than abroad - could double to £1bn.

    Currently, the UK gives around £500m a year to EU countries that care for Brits who have retired abroad.

    Last year, spending on the NHS in England was around £120 billion.

    The warning from the Nuffield Trust came as Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt told a newspaper that the NHS could suffer if Brexit "goes wrong".

    Brits abroad

    Around 190,000 British pensioners live abroad.

    Under the EU reciprocal "S1" scheme, British pensioners have the right to go to any other EU member state and receive the same health care rights as the local population.

    According to the Nuffield Trust, it may not be easy to continue with this agreement after Brexit.

    If all of these pensioners decided to return to the UK - a big if - they could be expected to fill 900 NHS hospital beds a year, it says.

    The NHS would need around 1,600 more doctors, nurses and other workers to provide the care, it estimates.

    Also, hospitals could end up short-staffed if migration of workers from the EU slows or stops post-Brexit.

    And access to medicines could also become more difficult if the UK leaves the EU's medicine licensing system.

    Possible benefits

    But there could be gains too post-Brexit, the Nuffield Trust says.

    When the UK leaves the EU it could stop paying EU membership fees. Money from this saving could be used by the NHS.

    Nuffield Trust spokesman Mark Dayan said: "It is possible that extra funds could be found for the NHS from any cancellation of Britain's EU membership fees.

    "But whether or not these benefits will outweigh the significant staffing and financial costs Brexit may impose on already stretched services remains to be seen.

    "That depends largely on the NHS being recognised as a significant priority as we enter some of the most important negotiations in Britain's history."

    The British Medical Association urged politicians to keep the health service and its patients at the forefront during Brexit negotiations.

    A Conservative party spokesman said safeguarding the rights of UK nationals in the EU and EU nationals in the UK was "one of our first priorities for the Brexit negotiations".

    Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said: "A brighter future is possible. We will stand up to a bad Brexit deal that would hit the NHS hard, and give people the final say with a chance to remain in the EU."

    Labour have not commented on the Nuffield Trust's report, but have accused the Conservatives of "starving" the NHS.

    source: Brexit expat retirees 'may cost NHS millions' - BBC News
    "Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience". Mark Twain

    #2
    The figure of “Around 190,000 British pensioners live abroad” is way off. There are many more not registered with the British Consulate and many who are either drawing pensions in the UK but living abroad. I would estimate a figure to be more like 350,000.
    .
    "A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves and traitors are not victims, but accomplices," George Orwell

    Comment


      #3
      My understanding is if an expat in Spain uses their medical services then the Spanish hospital claims the cost back from the UK.

      I'm not sure of other countries arrangements but seems like we still pay for expats now.

      Comment


        #4
        In reality they won't be going anywhere. If an expat went to Spain and legally bought a villa, maybe got the maid pregnant and has a half-Spanish kid, learned the lingo so he can buy his fags from Diego the smuggler, spent his pension in the local bars, kept his head down and stayed out of the way of the locals by living in British ghettos, etc. You can't suddenly kick him out. There would be riots on the Costa Del Sol.

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by woohoo View Post
          My understanding is if an expat in Spain uses their medical services then the Spanish hospital claims the cost back from the UK.

          I'm not sure of other countries arrangements but seems like we still pay for expats now.
          This is true for retirees in the EU. The article above takes this into consideration.

          I am not sure that the revenue expenditure would break the bank. It is more of a problem of staff recruitment and facilities. The former could be solved by hiring Spanish healthcare professionals.

          The impact on social care may be significant, as I don't believe these services (if they even exist as funded services in Spain) are paid for by the UK.

          It is worth looking at the projected age profile of the UK and then considering what happens if the UK reduces net immigration of young people while also reducing net emigration of old people.

          http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukne...0-by-2039.html
          Last edited by northernladyuk; 31 May 2017, 06:57.

          Comment


            #6
            When did anyone say Brexit means we are kicking anyone out of the UK?

            You are just making this up as you go along.

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by original PM View Post
              When did anyone say Brexit means we are kicking anyone out of the UK?

              You are just making this up as you go along.
              Where in this thread did anyone say Brexit means we are kicking anyone out of the UK?

              You are just making this up as you go along.

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by northernladyuk View Post
                Where in this thread did anyone say Brexit means we are kicking anyone out of the UK?

                You are just making this up as you go along.
                You still here?

                thought you would have been banned you know for starting a thread to insult another poster...

                or maybe some animals are more equal than others on here....

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by Fronttoback View Post
                  In reality they won't be going anywhere. If an expat went to Spain and legally bought a villa, maybe got the maid pregnant and has a half-Spanish kid, learned the lingo so he can buy his fags from Diego the smuggler, spent his pension in the local bars, kept his head down and stayed out of the way of the locals by living in British ghettos, etc. You can't suddenly kick him out. There would be riots on the Costa Del Sol.
                  So...

                  My father and step-mother moved to France 3 years ago to retire. They'd bought a tumbledown house some years before and have spent lots of time and money doing it up, with still some work to go. My Dad's Mr DIY so basically this is his hobby.

                  One factor is that they generally get much better healthcare in France, although they have to pay for some of it with expensive insurance mostly the cost is paid by the NHS (that only applies if you're retired). My Dad turned 70 last year, and they both have a few health issues so this is essential.

                  I went to see them last week, and they were some what more gloomy about the future. In particular thanks to Brexit they're saying that if they don't get the same healthcare arrangements then they'll have no choice but to return to the UK, and this is the feeling amongst the expat community as a whole. People seem to focus on the right to stay, which is unlikely to change, but inside the EU guarantees all sorts of things that people depend on that could be all or partially taken away. And of course they're already worse off thanks to the fall in the pound.

                  These are not Brexit voting millionaires. They sold up their modest house in the UK, paid off the small mortgage that was left, and this gave them a chunk of cash for a more comfortable retirement than they could have had in the UK. This means for the value of their house in France plus whatever they have they have no chance of buying anything back in the UK. And it gets worse than that as the area is full of British expats it's likely the prices will plummet if people start moving out.

                  They've always seemed really happy out there, and it was always going to be "forever". But it was a bit shocking to hear my Dad saying, whilst boring me about his DIY plans, "I'm not sure it's worth it now. We might be leaving soon.".

                  Will work inside IR35. Or for food.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by VectraMan View Post
                    So...

                    My father and step-mother moved to France 3 years ago to retire. They'd bought a tumbledown house some years before and have spent lots of time and money doing it up, with still some work to go. My Dad's Mr DIY so basically this is his hobby.

                    One factor is that they generally get much better healthcare in France, although they have to pay for some of it with expensive insurance mostly the cost is paid by the NHS (that only applies if you're retired). My Dad turned 70 last year, and they both have a few health issues so this is essential.

                    I went to see them last week, and they were some what more gloomy about the future. In particular thanks to Brexit they're saying that if they don't get the same healthcare arrangements then they'll have no choice but to return to the UK, and this is the feeling amongst the expat community as a whole. People seem to focus on the right to stay, which is unlikely to change, but inside the EU guarantees all sorts of things that people depend on that could be all or partially taken away. And of course they're already worse off thanks to the fall in the pound.

                    These are not Brexit voting millionaires. They sold up their modest house in the UK, paid off the small mortgage that was left, and this gave them a chunk of cash for a more comfortable retirement than they could have had in the UK. This means for the value of their house in France plus whatever they have they have no chance of buying anything back in the UK. And it gets worse than that as the area is full of British expats it's likely the prices will plummet if people start moving out.

                    They've always seemed really happy out there, and it was always going to be "forever". But it was a bit shocking to hear my Dad saying, whilst boring me about his DIY plans, "I'm not sure it's worth it now. We might be leaving soon.".

                    3 years you say? Plus 2 years to brexit. Plus delays.

                    Easily get a permanent residency visa by then. 5 years needed.

                    https://www.thelocal.fr/20161116/how...ency-in-france

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