The European Parliament has backed a report to give European citizens the right to seek healthcare abroad more easily. This means British people will be able to receive medical care throughout the EU.
The aim of the new Directive on patients' rights to cross-border healthcare is to ensure that there are no obstacles to patients to seek treatment in an EU state other than their own and to clarify the right to be reimbursed. Liberal Democrats also call for a European Ombudsman to guarantee patients' rights and deal with complaints.
The new law does not oblige healthcare providers to offer medical care to a person from another EU country, so the NHS could not be forced to do so.
London Liberal Democrat MEP Sarah Ludford said:
"This is a great new European step forward. Londoners who find difficulty in getting prompt or appropriate treatment at home will now be able to receive medical care abroad without having to worry about costs."
"It sweeps away the present complex rules and legal uncertainty which can be a barrier for people without financial means to access private health care."
Commenting on the fact that Socialists and Greens did not back the new law, Sarah Ludford added:
"These groups have a lot of explaining to do to voters in the forthcoming European election campaign. They claim to want a 'social' Europe but apparently not one in which all patients - not just the rich - get the right to the treatment they need."
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