Non-EU patients, including those from India, to be charged in UK
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London: The UK government is preparing to introduce charges for non-EU national, including from countries like India, accessing doctor's services in the country.
It had been announced earlier this year that the government planned to charge for Accidents and Emergency (A&E) and ambulance care, but this has now been extended to some general practitioner (GP) services too.
"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," UK Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said.
"This government was the first to introduce tough measures to clamp down on migrants accessing the NHS and these changes will recover up to 500 million pounds per year to put back into frontline patient care," he said.
Under the proposals, refugees and asylum seekers would be exempt from charges, and no-one would be denied emergency care at the point of need, the government said.
From April this year, non-European Union citizens settling in the UK for longer than six months are required to pay a "health surcharge" as part of their visa application - which, according to the UK Department of Health, has already produced 100 million pounds in savings.
It had been announced earlier this year that the government planned to charge for Accidents and Emergency (A&E) and ambulance care, but this has now been extended to some general practitioner (GP) services too.
"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," UK Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said.
"This government was the first to introduce tough measures to clamp down on migrants accessing the NHS and these changes will recover up to 500 million pounds per year to put back into frontline patient care," he said.
Under the proposals, refugees and asylum seekers would be exempt from charges, and no-one would be denied emergency care at the point of need, the government said.
From April this year, non-European Union citizens settling in the UK for longer than six months are required to pay a "health surcharge" as part of their visa application - which, according to the UK Department of Health, has already produced 100 million pounds in savings.
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