http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-29565766

I wonder what he'd make of a highly-skilled worker who has cancer or HIV.

if they were able to pay for their own medical care then they would be allowed to work here
if they can not pay for their own medical care then they cant come here, simples ...

Well, it worked for rabies...

Although I loathe the guy, his comments about an overburdened service are right and allowing sick people to immigrate is going to worsen the situation.

You have two choices, allow them to immigrate and put up NI contributions to fund additional services and beds, or you refuse them entry. Neither of which are going to be a popular stand point. Heck the NHS has needed a major boost to its income for decades, without taking into account additional load from sick immigrants.

"Those who travel to the UK specifically for healthcare, such as women who give birth in an NHS hospital before returning home, are actually estimated to cost the service just £70m a year (0.06% of the budget). "
[url]http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2013/10/how-much-does-health-tourism-really-cost-nhs-its-not-£2bn[/url]

UKIP are dragging out spectres that you imagine are important to justify their fantasy of a Little Britain that never was.
Heart disease is a bigger drain on the NHS, but we don't like that because it requires a modification of our own habits rather than simply telling a handful of those strange, frightful foreigners from overseas that they can't come in.
UKIP are a party of privilege who absolutely do not have your interests in mind.

a very simple way to stop health tourists is to make it compulsory to have medical insurance before being allowed to enter the UK
no medical insurance, no right of entry ...

Health tourists aren't a problem. Honestly, they're not.
Heart disease that can easily avoided by stopping smoking, taking exercise, good dental care and diet would save us so much more.
But again, that's not as simple as making you all think there's hoards of 'outsiders' wanting to come and rape the NHS with their evil grasping hands while the good gentlefolk of the UK have to do without.

I'm with you on that. My point was, that the NHS is already overburdened, without sick immigrants - and don't forget, I am writing this as an immigrant living in Germany.

And, from what I read in the article, it isn't health tourists, at least not those coming over for an op or to give birth, then flying back home, but those immigrating and staying, who have know chronic conditions when they arrive - which probably means they are unable to work or work only in a limited capacity.

If the NHS isn't being funded enough to cope with the sick nationals (and whether that could be remedied by better preventative measures, such as not smoking and not eating fatty and sugary foods in excess or not is another matter), how is it supposed to cope with an influx of sick immigrants?

I don't agree with his politics, but he is raising awareness of the problem of an underfunded NHS, even if he is doing so by waiving the red flag of "immigrants", which is bogus.

if health tourist had to have medical insurance they would become an asset to the NHS
they as an individual would still receive treatment free at the point of use but the NHS could then recoup the costs of treatment from the medical insurance
if they do not have medical insurance then no entry to the UK so no problem for the NHS in regard to any treatment costs

thereby funding the treatment and in a indirect way paying NI via medical insurance for the treatment that they may need
instead of using the NHS as a free world health service without any payment for treatment ...

Heart disease cost the NHS around £9billion.
Health tourism cost - well first of all, define a 'health tourist'. It's a very lose term.
How many of them are there actually? Who are you adding to or leaving out of that phrase?
Are we referring to the treatment of foreign nationals - people who work or study here but aren't UK citizens, or just people specifically travelling to the UK to use the NHS before leaving?
If it's the second one, then the actual cost is tiny. If it's the first, then the cost is recouped.
This all tactics to distract you from the real fact that it's people like Farage who'd like to turn off the NHS all together and privatise it.
To paraphrase a joke: UKIP, a Daily Mail reader and a benefit claimant are sitting at a table sharing 12 biscuits. UKIP takes 11 and says to the Daily Mail reader: “Watch out for the benefit claimant, he wants your biscuit”.

there are lies, damned lies and statistics ...
any money recouped by insurance payments helps fund our NHS

medical insurance to enable right of entry to the UK will ensure that there are no health tourists ...

I'm still not sure why you're obsessed with health tourists. There are much bigger fish to fry than merely worrying about some non-existent mass of HIV carrying foreigners.
As for money recouped from insurance paying toward the NHS - there won't be an NHS to pay it to if UKIP were to succeed. They want us all to be an 'asset'.
UKIP will shaft this country far quicker than covering the cost of the rare occasion someone travels to the UK specifically for a course of HIV treatment before leaving.



And voting for literally anyone but UKIP will ensure there's a health service for the rest of us.

I cannot work you out. Cannot fathom if you're as racist / homophobic as the rest of UKIP and just try to hide it in the same way they do, or whether you're actually stupid enough to fall for their rhetoric.

if anybody outside the UK where no reciprocal health agreement is in place would, by law, require medical insurance to enable right of entry to the UK
try going to the USA without medical insurance and/or other non EU country’s

i will vote UKIP for one policy only, to get out of the EU
i'm not interested in any other policy but i may agree, or not, with others. as i do with any or all other political parties policy’s

if any individual comes to the UK they must have medical insurance, i don’t think that is wrong ...

i have been a union rep for over 15 years in the retail industry
if that, as you state, was a fact. i would have been found out years ago

but i do believe in fair play and if that rocks the boat, so be it ...

From the US Embassy's site:
"What do I do about health insurance?

There is no equivalent of the National Health Service in the United States. Visitors and temporary residents are required to pay their own medical costs. As a result it is advisable to take out health insurance. Temporary visitors to the United States can obtain accident and sickness insurance before departing the United Kingdom. Most local insurance brokers as well as many travel agents can arrange such coverage with insurance firms in the United Kingdom. Those planning on remaining in the United States for any length of time or permanently may obtain health insurance after arrival there. Sometimes it is available through an employer, as many companies arrange group insurance for their employees."

So, merely advisable, not necessary. You'll just be expected to pay the cost instead of your insurer. It is not a barrier to entry in the USA.
Same for Australia, as far as I can discern. Which countries have medical insurance as a requirement for entry?