Consultations on charging asylum seekers Healthcare fees published

Refugee Council – The government has published its consultation on proposed changes to the system for charging for secondary healthcare (hospital treatment). As things currently stand, an asylum seeker whose claim has been refused, who has exhausted all appeal rights and who has not yet begun treatment in a hospital has to pay for it. This has led to harrowing cases of women giving birth at home, or people being denied treatment for cancer, because they are unable to pay.

The new charging regulations were introduced in 2004, and immediately came under intense opposition from charities and health professionals alike, as it became clear that the rules were tantamount to refusing some asylum seekers treatment for serious illnesses. The Refugee Council produced a report in 2006 containing dozens of cases of people who had been denied treatment and some of the consequences.

The Department of Health is now proposing to modify the regulations to exclude asylum seekers whose claims have been refused but who are on Section 4 or Section 95 support. They also recognise that refused asylum seekers are unlikely to be able to pay for treatment, particularly if it is costly, therefore debts may be written off. They have also changed the rules so that unaccompanied children, previously included in the charging regulations, are exempt.

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