NHS goes international?

[Osem]

The NHS is potentially vulnerable to fraud due to loopholes in the issuing of European Health Insurance cards, the Department of Health has admitted.

An investigation by the Daily Mail found people who had never worked in Britain were able to obtain a free EHIC card in the UK, the paper says.

Health services abroad were then able to claim back the costs of their treatment from the UK authorities.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-33843758

Bit of a glaring loophole I'd have thought but never mind eh - it doesn't really matter, there are far worse problems to deal with and I don't suppose it's widely known about...

Consultant surgeon Meirion Thomas told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme it was a well known scam.

"It's already got around, it's there, it's in the real world. Migrants come into this country and ask for EHIC cards."

Oh...

[Kursk]

Originally Posted by Osem

Consultant surgeon Meirion Thomas told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme it was a well known scam.

Phew, I was worried for a moment there. As long as it's a well-known scam there's nothing to worry about .

[Taf]

The cards are also passed around visiting relatives from non-EU countries, in case questions are asked about their eligibilty for UK treatment.

Another case for a UK photo ID card.

[Gary L]

The UK is well known for being a little island full of idiots.

[mrmistoffelees]

Originally Posted by Gary L

The UK is well known for being a little island full of idiots.

You keep beating that drum dear sir....

[Gary L]

Originally Posted by mrmistoffelees

You keep beating that drum dear sir....

You know it's true.
Nobody likes us. Eurovision ignores us. and the rest just take advantage of our softness.

[mrmistoffelees]

Originally Posted by Gary L

You know it's true.
Nobody likes us. Eurovision ignores us. and the rest just take advantage of our softness.

It's not true at all

[Gary L]

Originally Posted by mrmistoffelees

It's not true at all

And there's no such thing as Father Christmas either.

[Osem]

Originally Posted by Kursk

Phew, I was worried for a moment there. As long as it's a well-known scam there's nothing to worry about .

Oh well, it's only taxpayers' money eh...

[Kursk]

Originally Posted by Osem

Oh well, it's only taxpayers' money eh...

Hell hath no fury like a taxpayer scammed. There may be trouble ahead

[Ignitionnet]

Originally Posted by Taf

Another case for a UK photo ID card.

There is more than enough information stashed about us in various government databases that I can only agree that an official photo ID card would be a good idea now. It won't infringe further on our privacy so my wet liberal / libertarian objections are no longer there.

Originally Posted by Ignitionnet

There is more than enough information stashed about us in various government databases that I can only agree that an official photo ID card would be a good idea now. It won't infringe further on our privacy so my wet liberal / libertarian objections are no longer there.

This liberal never had any objections to having an ID card..after all my OH carried one as a member of the armed forces for 24 years and he suffered no ill effects.

[Taf]

It's having to pay over the odds for an ID card that made me object to them. Passport prices went up to include ID card costs, but did not go down when ID cards were cancelled....

[Osem]

Originally Posted by Taf

It's having to pay over the odds for an ID card that made me object to them. Passport prices went up to include ID card costs, but did not go down when ID cards were cancelled....

Quelle surprise.

Govt. ineptitude is rife - whatever they do you can be fairly sure it'll cause a host of problems and wind up costing us even more.

It's far too easy to cheat the system here in various ways and dealing with the legacy of past, current and future flaws in the tax, welfare, health regulations will pose major problems for the foreseeable future. It's no wonder people can simply 'disappear' for many years in the UK and I wouldn't be at all surprised to learn that there's widespread abuse of the EHIC arrangements.

[Kursk]

Originally Posted by Osem

Quelle surprise.

Govt. ineptitude is rife - whatever they do you can be fairly sure it'll cause a host of problems and wind up costing us even more.

It's far too easy to cheat the system here in various ways and dealing with the legacy of past, current and future flaws in the tax, welfare, health regulations will pose major problems for the foreseeable future. It's no wonder people can simply 'disappear' for many years in the UK and I wouldn't be at all surprised to learn that there's widespread abuse of the EHIC arrangements.

Good enough reason in itself to stop underpaying Civil Servants. I'm afraid that the public at large will come to realise that the 'faceless bureaucrats' have in fact been working to sustain the standards the taxpayer has come to expect and now resources have been cut deeper than the bone it's all starting to go awry.