4 ms·

Foreign nationals without a visa (and non-resident British people, like me now) do receive a bill. I used to work in the department that recovers the money. Th

by robjan 6y ago

Foreign nationals without a visa (and non-resident British people, like me now) do receive a bill. I used to work in the department that recovers the money. The rates are in an excel file linked on this page. Visitors pay 150% of the published rate. https://improvement.nhs.uk/resources/national-tariff/ https://improvement.nhs.uk/resources/national-tariff/

varispeed 6y ago
Out of curiosity, what kind of money we are talking about? For example checking up sprained ankle at A&E? Many of my friends being disappointed with NHS go for example to Mexico for private treatment and it works much better that doing it here, plus you can enjoy the climate and great food.
- robjan 6y ago
  Not giving medical advice but you probably shouldn't be going to A&E for a sprained ankle unless it's very serious or a suspected break. For people who are not ordinarily resident in the UK an A&E admission costs £100-£500 plus any tests and treatment. There's a small amount of margin which is used to offset the cost of recovering the money and the fact that sometimes the bills go unpaid.
  - arethuza 6y ago
    Yeah most of the NHS hospitals I know have "Minor Injury Units" - I generally think that if you can make your own way there they it probably isn't one for A&E. Mind you the last time I went for something I thought wasn't very serious (a cat bite) I was told to go to A&E pretty quickly!
  - varispeed 6y ago
    I see, so it is not the kind of situation when you need to consider getting mortgage to pay off the medical bill. It was just an example. General advice I heard is that when you can't go to GP and walk-in is either too far away or closed, you can go to A&E or call 111 for instructions.
    - robjan 6y ago
      It's not like the US system where people have to choose whether or not to call an ambulance but it's obviously better for visitors to come with health insurance since a policy covering most emergency healthcare, and various other eventualities that could happen on a trip, is probably around US$10-20 pp.

by robjan 6y ago

varispeed 6y ago

Out of curiosity, what kind of money we are talking about? For example checking up sprained ankle at A&E? Many of my friends being disappointed with NHS go for example to Mexico for private treatment and it works much better that doing it here, plus you can enjoy the climate and great food.

robjan 6y ago
Not giving medical advice but you probably shouldn't be going to A&E for a sprained ankle unless it's very serious or a suspected break. For people who are not ordinarily resident in the UK an A&E admission costs £100-£500 plus any tests and treatment. There's a small amount of margin which is used to offset the cost of recovering the money and the fact that sometimes the bills go unpaid.
- arethuza 6y ago
  Yeah most of the NHS hospitals I know have "Minor Injury Units" - I generally think that if you can make your own way there they it probably isn't one for A&E. Mind you the last time I went for something I thought wasn't very serious (a cat bite) I was told to go to A&E pretty quickly!
- varispeed 6y ago
  I see, so it is not the kind of situation when you need to consider getting mortgage to pay off the medical bill. It was just an example. General advice I heard is that when you can't go to GP and walk-in is either too far away or closed, you can go to A&E or call 111 for instructions.
  - robjan 6y ago
    It's not like the US system where people have to choose whether or not to call an ambulance but it's obviously better for visitors to come with health insurance since a policy covering most emergency healthcare, and various other eventualities that could happen on a trip, is probably around US$10-20 pp.