Lords to debate report on reciprocal healthcare after BREXIT
The House of Lords will tomorrow, Tuesday 3 July, debate the EU Home Affairs Sub-Committee report, “Brexit: reciprocal healthcare”.
Among those listed to speak are Baroness Thornton, Shadow Spokesperson for Health, Lord Ribeiro, former president for the Association of Surgeons, and Lord Crisp, former Chief Executive of the NHS.
The debate is being moved by Lord Jay of Ewelme, Chair of the EU Home Affairs Sub-Committee; Lord O'Shaughnessy will respond on behalf of the Government.
The debate is expected to start after 5:30pm.
The report, Brexit: reciprocal healthcare warned that in the absence of an agreement on reciprocal healthcare, UK citizens' rights to hold an EHIC card for treatment in the EU will cease after Brexit.
Other rights, provided for by the S2 scheme and Patients' Rights Directive, will likewise come to an end. Without EHIC or an equivalent arrangement it could become much more expensive for UK citizens with chronic conditions such as dialysis patients and people living with rare diseases to travel to the EU post-Brexit, for holidays, recuperation or treatment. Indeed, these people might find difficulty in obtaining travel insurance at all.
