Treatment

From 1st October 2012 all charges for HIV treatment for anyone who is resident in the UK, regardless of their residence status, will be abolished.

However non-HIV NHS treatment may still be chargeable, unless it can be directly linked to your HIV. Find out more.

Hospital Bills for non HIV treatment

Although it can be extremely alarming to receive a bill for thousands of pounds of hospital treatment, you may be able to negotiate a realistic solution with the hospital.

It's important that you continue to take your treatment and here are some things you can do in the meantime:

• Contact the hospital’s Overseas Payments Officer as soon as possible to talk about whether you can pay the bill. 
• If you have no income at all, many hospitals will decide to cancel the debt. 
• If you have a very low income, many hospitals will accept a token payment of a few pounds a month. 
• But if you ignore the bills and don’t contact the hospital, they may ask debt collectors to get involved, and this will be more difficult to deal with.

Mistakes are sometimes made – you may be entitled to free treatment, but are still sent a bill. Contact THT Direct for confidential advice.

Download Will I have to pay? for further details.

There are many different rules concerning entitlement to free NHS hospital treatment. Here are some of the main rules, however if they do not apply to you, it is advisable to contact either THT Direct or NHS Direct for further advice as there are many more.

A person who is not ordinarily resident in the UK is entitled to receive free NHS hospital treatment, including non-emergency treatment and treatment for pre-existing conditions, if s/he:- 

• has been living lawfully in the UK for at least twelve months when s/he receives treatment. shows to the NHS's satisfaction that s/he is in the UK in order to take up permanent residence. 
• receives a UK state retirement pension and lives in the UK for at least 182 days a year (in Scotland and Wales, six months a year) and in another European Economic Area (EEA) member state or Switzerland for 182 days or less a year (in Scotland, six months or less a year, and in Wales, for less than six months) and is not registered as a resident of that other state. is pursuing a full-time course of study lasting at least six months, or is pursuing a course of study of any length which is substantially funded by the UK, Welsh, Scottish or Northern Ireland Governments.
• has come to the UK to work for an employer. is from a European Economic Area (EEA) country or Switzerland and is exercising a right to health treatment in the UK. This applies to someone with a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), although it does not cover coming to the UK for the purpose of getting treatment. It also applies to someone referred to the UK for pre-planned treatment with an E112 or S2 certificate. In England, there is more information about who can exercise these rights in government guidance, which is available on the Department of Health website. In Scotland, there is more information about who can exercise these rights on the Scottish Government website.
• is engaged in employment abroad and has at any time had at least ten years continuous lawful residence in the UK.

Recent changes to NHS charging

From 1 October 2012 all charges for HIV treatment for anyone who is resident in the UK, regardless of their residence status, will be abolished.

However non-HIV NHS treatment may still be chargeable, unless it can be directly linked to your HIV. Find out more on the Department of Health website.