What can you expect when a country is larded over with one program after another to help the so-called downtrodden? In the US, we too have increasingly developed and expanded programs for the destitute—I’m thinking specifically of food stamps and medicare/medicaid (Obamacare!)—where some sharp ‘entrepreneur’ has figured out, or will figure out, how to game the system.
Here are two stories from the UK over the last week that tell us how ‘out of control’ things are there. The second story reports on attempts by Parliament to rein-in “health tourism” by immigrants who are arriving illegally to get benefits from Britain’s great attraction—its National Health Service.
From the UK Telegraph (“Gang flew in benefit tourists!”):
An immigrant gang flew in scores of ‘benefit tourists’ to Britain, setting them up with houses and jobs, so they could steal hundreds of thousands of their tax credits.
A family of immigrants posed as interpreters to fly benefit tourists over to Britain so they could steal their tax credits, cheating HMRC out of £500,000.
The group flew in people from Eastern Europe and set them up in a house and low-paid job in exchange for their tax credits, which they pocketed.
Sisters Iveta and Magdalena Ferkova, 32 and 33, along with their aunt Alena Lackova, 39, and her husband Jan Lacko, 29, organised National Insurance numbers and housing to complete the scam over two years.
They managed to steal £500,000 in tax credits from HMRC, posing as interpreters for the workers they flew over when doing interviews in banks and at job centres.
All four were found guilty of conspiracy to commit fraud by making false representations.
And, here Parliament is considering a new law to restrict health tourism!
From Catholic Online:
LONDON, UK (Catholic Online) – If you are a foreigner visiting England, be prepared to show proof of citizenship before being given a NHS number, the item you need to receive free health services in the country.
A bill designed to cut down on health tourists and illegal immigration has been presented to Parliament as part of a package designed to crack down on people who are residing in the country illegally.
According to the bill, doctors will first have to check the immigration status of a patient who does not have a NHS number before they are authorized to provide treatment. Naturally, the proposal has doctors, among others upset. Doctors resent that they could be forced to participate in immigration enforcement.
Others say that healthcare should be provided no matter what. Defenders of the bill say that emergency care is still ensured.
England has become a destination for health tourists, foreigners who travel to the country to have procedures done for various reasons. These health tourists then receive the benefits of the national healthcare system but without having to pay any of the costs. To break down this practice, Parliament would pass a law that would ensure they must pay to access the system.
Pay attention America!