英国看病全免费？留学生就医3大绝招_BEC初级作文

英国看病全免费？留学生就医3大绝招

PAYING YOUR INTERNATIONAL HEALTH SURCHARGE FEE

支付国际医疗附加费

When people describe the NHS as being “free”, what they really mean is that it is “free at the point of service” – i.e. you don’t pay for individual appointments or treatments, and are entitled to as many of those as you need. Of course (as you economics students out there will know), the funding for that has to come from somewhere. Because the NHS is a public service, it is largely financed by taxing British citizens, who are then able to access healthcare without paying anything extra.

总听说NHS免费，实际上是“医疗服务免费”。也就是说，不用为私人预约或治疗付费，并且有权享受一些其他你需要的服务。当然，为了提供免费医疗，政府总得从别处筹集资金（学经济的肯定明白）。因为NHS是公共服务，大部分资金来源于英国人纳税，因此英国人不必付任何其他费用，即可享受免费医疗。

In the past, this worked out awesomely for international students in the UK, who could get this free treatment without being impacted by the taxes. However, with the NHS struggling in recent years, there’s been more pressure to balance the books, and make sure that everyone who is accessing public care is contributing towards it. Starting from 6th April 2017, this means that non-European students in the UK will have to pay a £150 annual medical surcharge on any new visa they receive, which can be transferred as part of the online visa application process. (Don’t worry if you applied for your latest visa before that date, you’ll be exempt – at least until your next application!) £150 might seem steep, but actually is a small price to pay to cover yourself for the year, and not worry too much about those nagging coughs and colds.