Non-means tested Medical Cards under EU Regulations?

raspberrypie

Hi, wasn't sure whether to put this in Bargain Alerts or here, but I'll put it here as it refers to medical cards, a State benefit. Anyway, I came across an interesting bit of info, seems if you're from the Republic and work in the North, say Derry, Armagh, Newry or even Belfast, anywhere in NI in fact, you can avail of their NHS, as I thought, but not only that you can also get a medical card from the HSE down here, regardless of your NI earnings, because you're not liable to a means test. So you could be scooping it in in your job over in Norn Iron and regardless of what you earn when you cross back into Kyrgyzstan you can see the doc for free, get your meds subsidised and go on one of our fasttrack *sarcasm* 2 to 3 year waiting lists (afaik, NHS waiting lists in the UK are maxing out at about 6 months so you might want to skip our ones) Best of both worlds.

"Frontier/Cross border workers
A frontier or cross border worker is a person who lives in one member state and works in another, returning home daily or weekly. For example, persons who live in Northern Ireland and work in the Republic of Ireland, or vice versa.

Northern residents working in the South:

Are entitled to NHS health care, as they are legally resident in NI
Are entitled to apply for an Irish Medical Card, subject to a means test

Southern residents working in the North:

Are entitled to a NHS medical card, however, their spouse and children are not eligible
Are eligible for free GP services
Are eligible to register with a NHS dentist
Are eligible for maternity services from a GP, a midwife and an obstetrician in a hospital if necessary
Are also eligible for an Irish Medical Card under EU Entitlement (without a means test)"

Under EU Entitlement means, "You are living in Ireland and working in another EU/EEA country or Switzerland and are liable to pay Social Insurance Contributions in that country".

Anyway, I thought it was an interesting little nugget to share. Not sure how many people know about it.

borderpeople.info/a-z/healthcare-for-frontier-workers.html

Balagan

All above info and more on the Citizens Information Medical Card info
http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/health/entitlement_to_health_services/medical_card.html