The House of Lords EU Committee has welcomed a proposal from the European Commission for a Directive on patients’ rights to cross-border healthcare, but called for improvements and warned that, due to the unpredictable impact of the provisions in the Directive, it must be carefully monitored on implementation.
The right of EU citizens to travel to another Member State to receive healthcare has been confirmed by the European Court of Justice, and the Committee said it agreed that it is essential to put in place a legal framework to replace ad hoc arrangements. The Committee is considering whether patients seeking healthcare in other Member States should pay the costs themselves in advance of treatment and then claim reimbursement later, and raised concerns that this would prevent those without adequate financial means from taking advantage of their right to cross-border healthcare. The report recommended that a patient’s own healthcare provider should pay the fees directly to the provider in the other Member State, and suggested that this could be linked with the process of securing authorisation prior to travel, which the Committee considered necessary both in order to protect the financial resources of health systems and to enable patients to make informed decisions. The report also called on Member States to ensure that patients are aware of their rights under the Directive, are informed about the quality of care they can expect, and how to make a complaint if necessary.
