British citizens living in the European Economic Area (EEA), made up of EU member states, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein, have the right to go to any member state and receive public healthcare which is then claimed back from the UK government.
Currently, the UK gives about £500m (€575bn, $641m) a year to EU countries that care for the 190,000 Brits who have retired abroad.
An estimated 70,000 retired Brits living in Spain use the country’s health system, while in France, 43,000 British pensioners were registered to use the French health service.
£1bn NHS bill
According to the Nuffield Trust, if pensioners currently receiving health care through European Union agreements are forced to return, caring for them in the UK would double the NHS bill to £1bn.
The independent health charity also warns it may be difficult for the UK to secure reciprocal healthcare rights for the British expats and EU citizens living in Britain during Brexit negotiations.
Mark Dayan, author of the report, said: “The NHS and social care were already under pressure from tight funding settlements and growing staffing problems well before the EU referendum last year.
“But if we handle it badly, leaving the EU could make these problems even worse, given the potential impact on both the strength of the UK economy and the supply of overseas staff to both health and social care services.
“It is possible that extra funds could be found for the NHS from any cancellation of Britain’s EU membership fees – but whether or not these benefits will outweigh the significant staffing and financial costs Brexit may impose on already stretched services remains to be seen.
“That depends largely on the NHS being recognised as a significant priority as we enter some of the most important negotiations in Britain’s history.”
Client concerns
Jason Porter, director of European advisory firm Blevins Franks, which provides financial advice to UK expats living in Spain, France and Portugal, told International Adviser reciprocal healthcare rights are a key concern for his clients in the run up to Brexit.
“If something is going to cost a lot of money and they [clients] haven’t got either very good or any private medical cover then there is potential for them to return to the UK,” he said.
However, Porter said most clients have assets above £1m and are therefore likely to have private medical insurance, a trend which is likely to grow as Britain prepares to leave the EU.
“Clients currently living in Europe or considering a move are covering their healthcare costs from the outset and don’t want to have the concern of potentially losing their health care cover.
“In most cases, the level of state healthcare in European countries such as France and Spain is quite good and the cost of private healthcare tends to be cheaper comapred to private healthcare in the UK,” he said.
