I don’t make value judgements on the Forum, but the facts are these :-


• £ 200 / year is less than a tenth of the average cost of health care per capita in the UK. Total UK NHS expenditure was over £ 140 billion ( 2012 ), with spending on each person nearly £ 2,400.


• Health of non-UK born individuals living in the UK can , for various reasons, be less good than the rest of the population - actual cost of treatment may exceed the per capita average.


• For example, it costs about £ 5,000 to treat each case of TB in the UK - much more if it's multidrug resistant. Pre-screening in the Philippines and other countries ONLY detects active TB - latent TB ( no symptoms ) may still develop into active TB years later.


• It’s enlightened self-interest to aim for universal health coverage and a good public health service. TB and ebola are examples of how a risk to one person, community, or nation, becomes a risk to other people, communities and nations.


• Treating and maintaining health of all migrants can’t be paid entirely by UK taxpayers.