P&R to negotiate health agreement with UK

Wednesday 26 June 2019

The States have voted to have P&R investigate what opportunities there might be for Guernsey to strike a Reciprocal Health Agreement with the UK.

But it did not want to remove a directive given to Employment & Social Security to develop an insurance scheme which would, in essence, emulate an agreement by covering people needing treatment on the mainland.

After debate concluded on Amendments 2 (Prow/Merrett) and 15 (Le Tocq/Stephens) The States decided to carry propositions 1a & 1b of Amendment 15. All other propositions in these two amendments were lost pic.twitter.com/imbc6chUeU

— States of Guernsey (@Govgg) 26 June 2019

An amendment brought by Deputy Jonathan Le Tocq to the Policy & Resources plan was voted through because it aims to bring Guernsey in line with Jersey and the Isle of Man, who have had a Reciprocal Health Agreement with the UK since 2011. Their agreement sees the UK provide an entitlement to specified free health services to visitors to all the parties to the individual Agreements.

P&R have been directed to try and negotiate an agreement with parliament. 

The States meeting has resumed & we are still debating 2 amendments on a reciprocal health agreement. There is an existing resolution directing CfESS on developing a States' insurance scheme for locals travelling to the UK only.

— Chris Green (@deputycgreen) 26 June 2019

While Guernsey once had a similar agreement, it has not for some time now.

According to Deputy Le Tocq, there has been many attempts to negotiate with the UK over re-establishing a reciprocal health agreement in recent years - all of which have been blocked by the UK. 

"We have raised it and continued to raise it, but there has been a nuanced change since the Brexit vote in the UK and that means there are opportunities to talk to the UK."

Brexit negotiations between the island and Parliament have 'left the door ajar' for a new system to be put in place. The amendment clarified that some early meetings on this matter had already taken place.

"Such an agreement falls within the high level ambitions of the Policy & Resource Plan/Future Guernsey Plan (P&R Plan) and would provide a level of public protection to a community which frequently need to travel, that is expected of a mature jurisdiction,and would “encourage and foster enterprise” in the visitor and business economies," the amendment said.

Deputy Michelle Le Clerc's ESS was directed to come up with an alternative insurance scheme in 2015 that would essentially act in the same way as a RHA. 

A similar amendment put forward by Deputy Rob Prow again wanted the States to agree that a RHA should be something islanders have the right to 'enjoy', but rather than direct the P&R Committee to work on the idea, wanted P&R and ESS to work together at the negotiating table.

ESS President Michelle Le Clerc argued in debate that her committee already had enough work to do, and so the States did not support this slight alteration.

Deputy Le Tocq clarified at the end of the debate that this vote did not mean for certain that the island would end up with an RHA with the UK, but rather that it would work toward getting one to the best of its abilities. The amendment directed P&R to bring a policy letter back by May 2020, or sooner if the agreement was not going to be a reality.