Brussels offers NHS patients Europe-wide treatment (UK National Health Service)

The Times (U.K.) ^ | June 2, 2008 | David Charter

[Stoat]

Patients will be able to escape NHS queues by demanding treatment anywhere in the European Union without the prior approval of a doctor, under proposals to guarantee health rights unveiled today in Brussels.

The NHS would then be duty bound to refund the British cost of the procedure under the new rules for cross-border healthcare.

Today’s proposed EU directive will give patients in all 27 member states the same rights to treatment on the NHS as British patients. It also guarantees that the full cost of treatment abroad will be refunded when an NHS professional has agreed that it is necessary for the patient to go overseas.

Patients will still have to pay their own travel and accommodation costs. They will not be able to demand funding abroad for treatments not available on the NHS, such as cosmetic surgery.

 

The directive —— which must now be examined by the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers before becoming EU law — was drawn up after several controversial European court cases on patients’ rights. One established that patients experiencing “undue delay” in their national health system had the right to fully funded treatment elsewhere in the EU.

As it stands, the proposed directive means that the NHS will have to fund a share of private treatment abroad for British patients, provided that the patient can afford the difference between the NHS cost and the private bill.

[Stoat]

My apologies for the severe editing of this article...this was done in order to remain in compliance with Free Republic posting rules for The Times.  Please see the original Times page to see the full article...I had to cut away over half of the article in order to be able to post anything at all from it here, so you will be missing quite a bit of the story if you don't.

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She added: “It will allow excessive demand from one country to be met by excessive capacity in another country. This is the essence of the co-operation.”

Does 'any' country on Earth have "excessive capacity" of healthcare services? 

It seems that the standard Socialist plan is being implemented again, where instead of reforming a given concern and making it better, they instead pull out all the stops to spread the misery around as widely as possible....when everyone is hurting, that means that they've been successful at 'creating equality'.

Please be sure to take a look at the reader comments at the Times page...many are thoughtful and insightful.

[frankiep]

I’m guessing that “excessive capacity” of healthcare services means simply ‘too much healthcare’. Which is a concept that only a socialist could come up, and which should scare the crap out of any rational thinking person.

[Stoat]

I’m guessing that “excessive capacity” of healthcare services means simply ‘too much healthcare’. Which is a concept that only a socialist could come up, and which should scare the crap out of any rational thinking person.

Indeed.  It will not only have the effect of diffusing complaints about the NHS  ("You're tired of waiting for your operation?  Go to Romania...they can get you in next week") but may increase some cultural hostilities.  If you are French or Italian, will you be pleased about the fact that you may experience greater wait times for healthcare services now as a result of a huge influx of patients into your healthcare systems?

[WilliamofCarmichael]

guarantee[d] health rights . . . cross-border healthcare

Hey! If we get Obama Kare and Obama Open Borders we'll be able to demand treatment in Mexicorruption.

Obama Kare -- The solution for too many old people and the Social Security / Medicare mess.

[Stoat]

I have no doubt that the Obama team (pox be upon them) is looking at this and getting all sorts of ideas...as this sort of thing gains acceptance in the 'more enlightened' Europe, the American Left is continually emboldened. They will point to Brussels and say that we are so very 'backward and inhumane' by not welcoming indigent illegals into our hospitals AND paying their bills for them....we can't ask the Mexican 'government' to reimburse us though...they are so very poor and that would be cruel, of course.

 

[Stoat]

(((PING)))

[socialismisinsidious]

Socialized Medicine aka Universal Health Care PING LIST

FReepmail me if you want to be added to or removed from this ping list.

[socialismisinsidious]

Thanks for the ping!

[Stoat]

Thanks for the ping!

 

You're quite welcome, and thank you very much for pinging your list  :-)

[CaspersGh0sts]

Yes, many comments on that page are thoughtful and inciteful, and not a one of them even questions the reasoning behind the EU making this declaration. They just all seem to be wondering about what’s in it for them—nary a comment about a weakened autonomy or a directive from on high.

[Stoat]

Yes, many comments on that page are thoughtful and inciteful, and not a one of them even questions the reasoning behind the EU making this declaration. They just all seem to be wondering about what’s in it for them—nary a comment about a weakened autonomy or a directive from on high.

Point taken...sadly, we'll never know whether the lack of such essential questions is due to the Times readers being overwhelmingly Socialist and therefore sympathetic to the plan or whether it's a matter of the Times censors refusing to allow opinions or questions of that nature from readers.

I've submitted numerous comments both to the Times as well as the Daily Mail over the years, and although the comments have been polite, devoid of foul language and entirely in keeping with the focus of the article, they haven't been supportive of Leftist ideology and I have yet to have a comment successfully posted in either of those places.

It could also be that they simply don't like stoats....