PMI could become mandatory for visitors to the UK

New government plans could force immigrants coming to the UK to take out mandatory private medical insurance (PMI).

The move is to lessen the burden on NHS funding and pass some of the risks and costs on to the private insurance sector. The Home Office said current arrangements allowing free access to health care for immigrants were “overly generous” and “impossible to defend in the current economic conditions”.

A ministerial statement from the Home Office said: “These current weaknesses result in the UK taxpayer unfairly bearing the healthcare costs of temporary non-EEA migrants, who will not make the same financial contribution to our healthcare systems as permanent residents over their working lives in the UK, and short-term visitors and illegal migrants who access free health services when they should be subject to treatment charges.”

The proposals are currently under consultation and present two alternative measures for the insurance industry and health officials to consider. The first proposal is a £200 annual levy to obtain access to NHS services, with the alternative being for immigrants to take out PMI.

Possible structures for the PMI proposal include an open-market approach where immigrants obtain cover from the private sector or a state-licensed scheme similar to the system used in Australia.

The Home Office said the main benefit of mandatory insurance provision was the transfer of risk from the NHS: “Under the suggested levy approach the taxpayer would still underwrite a proportion of the average health care cost of each temporary migrant. However, under a health insurance option the cost and risk would be transferred away from the taxpayer and on to the migrant.”

Respond to the consultation here. The closing date is 28 August.