It’s time to balance the health care books

Friday 31st July 2009, 2:59PM BST.

From Roger Bale.
IN the UK, the Law Lords recently ruled that entitlement to the National Health Service is dependent upon 12 months’ legal residence.

In Jersey, no such residence period appears to be required to access non-emergency health care at the hospital or for medicines.

Mike Pollard, Chief Executive of the Health and Social Services Department, put it on record as recognising this as a serious problem and in May 2008 said that he was shortly to start work on new eligibility criteria for persons receiving treatment here in Jersey.

I have yet to see Mr Pollard’s recommendations, but in their absence, may I ask what reason is there for not saying that approval for anybody employing someone from a non-reciprocal country (which now includes the UK) must have health insurance with an approved insurer, covering illness, including existing medical conditions, for the first 12 months of their and their dependents’ stay in Jersey?

As far as tourists from non-reciprocal countries are concerned, they, like Jersey folk now visiting the UK, should have travel/health insurance or otherwise foot the bill themselves.
We in Jersey have long been advised in advertisements by the States to have health insurance in place before travelling from Jersey.

Not only have we had that premium to pay, but through taxation, we have also picked up the bill for people travelling to Jersey without insurance.
Time to balance the books?

1
dave

August 1, 2009 at 2:03 pm

People visiting Jersey from the uk are treated in the same way as we are when visiting the UK.

People coming here to work have to be here and paid social security for 6 months before they are entitled to medical benefits.

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2
Leah Holmes

August 3, 2009 at 5:24 pm

Yes it does. The fact that no-one ever enforces it is Jersey’s problem. I would never go to A&E unless I had an emergency but I know some nationalities do and no-one turns them away and makes them go to a GP. Jersey only has itself to blame for that.

Also, Jersey’s health service owes the UK a lot of money, although somehow it doesn’t seem to be forthcoming. And yes, some of that money was mine, but now they want me to pay for my drugs here having already nicked my taxes? It’s not going to happen.

Why not actually redress the balance by treating those of us UK citizens that were here before the reciprocal agreement ended the same way that those who already have the health card are treated? I know of two people already being forced to ‘break the law’ just to get their medication, which is very odd because all their working life they have paid either NI or SS contributions.

As for insurance, try getting it for conditions you have no say in (were born with or simply occured through no fault of your own). You can’t! Why is it that some people think it’s okay to continue to penalise those of us that have already been penalised enough by long-term ill health. I had no say in my conditions, none at all, they are nothing to do with diet, drink, drugs, promscuity, they just happen some times and it was just tough luck! I spend my own hard earned cash living my life in a way that minimises the problems they cause, yet people who take no action over their health get all sorts of help thrown at them.

Is this just another step along the line of making it impossible for Jersey people to date outside the island? It’s hard enough as it is, my partner would NEVER be treated in Scotland the way I am treated here and he is quite embarrassed by that.

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