Department asks whether migrants should pay for dentistry
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- Published: Friday, 16 August 2013 10:14
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Extracts from consultation document
As with the rest of primary care, the lack of residency rules means visitors or migrants, if taken on for NHS dental care, receive the same subsidised, if subject to NHS charges, or free, if in an exempt category, provision as UK residents.
We need to look further at the different types and levels of charges that might be applied to visitors and migrants that would be consistent with ‘fair contribution’. As with pharmacy and ophthalmic services, a key challenge is a mechanism for determining those who are chargeable as migrants or visitors that would be accessible to and operable by all high street dentists. A further consideration for dentistry is the potential impact of any changes on local dental access.
We therefore need to consider these challenges in conjunction with related appraisal and development of the integrated NHS process for registering and tracking new migrant access to healthcare set out in Chapter 5 but would welcome views as to whether new migrant charges for dental services is something that should, and could practically be pursued, or any alternative proposals.
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