News
European Parliament backs cross-border health rights
20 May 2009
New legislation reinforcing the right for patients to travel to
another European country for treatment and to have the cost reimbursed
has been given the go-ahead by the European Parliament.
This new EU legislation follows a 2006 European Court of Justice
ruling that the NHS could not refuse to refund costs of treatment in
another EU Member State if patients waited longer than clinicians
advised, even if waiting list targets were met.
The new legislation includes clauses requiring provision of
information by electronic means and standards of ehealth and
telemedicine to be equivalent to non electronic forms of care.
Liberal Democrat MEP Liz Lynne was the shadow draft person for the
Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Europe (ALDE) group in the
Employment and Social Affairs Committee and tabled amendments to ensure
that it is the UK Government who is responsible for authorizing and
paying for treatment in other countries so as to ensure the legislation
applies to everyone and not just to those who can afford it.
Commenting on the vote Liz Lynne said: "Cross-border healthcare has
always been around for people who can afford it. This legislation opens
this opportunity up to all people irrespective of income and must now be
backed by the UK Government.
"Why should a patient have to lose their sight waiting for a cataract
operation, or spend months in agony waiting for a hip replacement when
they could get treatment sooner in another Member State, sometimes at a
lesser cost to the country of origin?
"If a clinician advises treatment and this cannot be provided at
home, then we need a legal framework to ensure that they can seek it
elsewhere."
For more information on the legislation see:
www.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/FindByProcnum.do?lang=en&procnum
=COD/2008/0142
|