I could never have imagined this situation

I was at my local hospital last week
On the wall large sign states if you live in another country it is ILLEGAL to obtain nhs treatment unless you pay for it

I am very sorry to read of your situation RamblingRose47.

My husband developed heart problems in 2012. I really feel for you living with this fear, once my husband was diagnosed I didn't like to leave him alone for any length of time. As we slept apart following his diagnosis, I was always worried when he got up late. Tragically he died of a heart attack whilst I was out of the house walking our dog in May 2016. I still feel so shocked that it happened so unexpectedly, he seemed so well that day.

I hope you have a chance to tell your husband that you love him dearly, are scared something may happen to him when you are apart, and come to some arrangement to reduce these times of separation.

Some people still insist they know best. I have quoted the rules as they were changed in 2015, yet some of you still insist you are correct by saying he is committing fraud. Get your facts right before insisting you are correct

Is he attempting to live completely separate lives but not actually leave you?

This discussion isn't helping Rose. She has not asked if her DH is entitled to NHS care. Perhaps we should stick to the problem Rose wants help with.

UK citizens who are ex pats can and do get caught out and invoiced

You may not agree with the eligibility rules, but so long as his permanant residence is elsewhere, he is only entitled to gp & a&e, not inpatient or long term treatment

Rose's husband will be paying tax on his pension and if he was a GP he will have paid and will continue to pay plenty of tax. Of course he is entitled to NHS care.

You may think he should be entitled, but he is not.

Eligibility goes on residency not citizenship or past tax payments

It’s quite fair and legal for us to use the NHS which we have both paid into all our working lives.

It is actually not!

If he decided tomorrow to move back to the UK permanantly he would instantly be eligible to use the NHS

But while he does not want to make the move permanantly and keeps your home abroad as his permanant residence he is commiting fraud and could be presented with a hefty invoice as soon as nhs managers get wind! (if he is indeed doing what you say, I do think it sounds like a second family situation)

We have explained that momb but there seems to be some resentment about our entitlement to NHS care.

Rose's husband will be paying tax on his pension and if he was a GP he will have paid and will continue to pay plenty of tax. Of course he is entitled to NHS care.

Maybe your DH has said no to your offer to move back to the UK because he doesnt want to part you from your good friends in France. Sorry to say this but he could be thinking that if he doesnt survive his heart condition then at least you would be settled in the country you prefer and living near friends to support you. He might actually be thinking about what could be best for you in the longer term.

But it’s not just about the nhs the husband was over here for long periods with his mum who had dementia now she has died he is ill and can only be treated here This man is either being dishonest and really dislikes being in France or he has other interests in Uk
eazybee I knew I had read this before with much the same answers I m sure most answers were to get it on the table and find out why
rose by reposted the same problem I think you are desperately looking for support and answers that all is well with your long distance marriage I think it’s a really difficult situation for you, have you ever tried saying ‘let’s stop all this travelling and move back’ I wonder how that would go down

My family hold a UK and Australian passport---it's handy.

Jaylucy you can get free treatment if you're a dual passport holder. It gives you the option of having the benefits that each country has to offer---ours being the NHS.

Well said Helena.

I do not very often post on here but I do read many of the topics raised. I am amazed by the number of you who are telling the OP that her husband using the NHS when he does not live in UK is illegal. Welshwife has pointed out twice that it is perfectly legal. The rules have changed for those of you who keep insisting that they are right but obviously know nothing about this.
The changes basically enable our pensioner ex-pats living in Europe to come back to the UK and use the NHS as if they were still living here. This is relevant to those in receipt of a UK state pension, living in another EU country who have their healthcare paid for by the UK by means of an S1 registered with the health system of the country they are living in. This change was implemented in April 2015.
So please stop keep telling the OP that what her husband is doing is illegal

I agree with Bluebelle. Your husband should be using the French medical system not the NHS. My husband also has a serious heart condition but has now waited 5 months to see a consultant. Perhaps if overseas residents didn't take advantage of our NHS services he wouldn't have to wait. I understand that this is not what you wanted to hear but it appears that your husband is stubborn and selfish by not including you in everything and also by taking up NHS appointments which should only be for entitled people - not French residents. The E111 card (or whatever it is called now) is for emergencies only.

This issue has been discussed before under a different name; the poster received similar advice and appears not to have followed it.
Marriage is for 'sickness and in health' and she needs to find out exactly what her husband's condition is from those who are treating him, so that she may make preparations for the future.

It wasn’t the millions vs billions I was taking issue with Bingo. It was your suggestion that someone who has paid U.K. taxes all his life is somehow scrounging on the NHS.
If I stayed with my son in America for 4 months and then returned to Britain and needed medical treatment, would that make me a ‘health tourist’ in your eyes?

janeainsworth - I should have said ''millions'' ( not ''billions'' ) of course. Report dated 26/08/19 says the NHS is owed -£150,000,000
by health tourist. Two London hospitals alone are owed £28,000,000 between them by people who are not residents. One women owes £500,000 for birth of twins.
The man referred to here is described as having moved to France - so he is not a UK resident whether he has paid UK tax etc or not. My understanding is that one has to be fully resident in UK for 3 full months AND be living in UK before using free NHS i.e. not ''living in France''. This is based on my own personal experience - perhaps some UK hospitals are not as rigorous as other. I should have thought OP needs to be aware of this situation.

Oh dear, I hope some of the comments haven’t scared you off.
I’m sorry to hear of your situation. Could you maybe rent out your home and then rent in UK?
Hoping it goes well for you both.
Have a good outcome.

You say your husband has a medical background, did you mean he is a doctor?

If so, this might well explain his unwillingness to let you attend hospital with him. My father was a doctor and although he latterly did accept that I accompanied him to hospital, as he was in a wheelchair, I think he would have preferred my not being there, but as he was not fluent in Danish, and not all doctors here are fluent in English, he put up with my services as interpreter.

A doctor, perhaps especially a physician, may not be able to confide his worries to his wife. I visualise a long line of doctors' wives agreeing with me here. Sorry as I am to say it, I don't think you will change him on this point.

Has he always tended to be secretive, or is this a new thing? If it is new, it could perhaps be a sign of the onset of dementia, but are there any other signs?

You may already have done this, but in your place, I would tell him exactly what you have told us, and say that you do not want this situation to continue. I would also work out exactly what all his journeys to the UK are costing , then work out a budget of your household expenses and of your joint income and put it in front of him.

As you cannot afford to go with him, you really cannot afford him to go on using money in this way, so now is the time to revise your expenditure. Otherwise, you might well find yourselves in debt.

A lot of people (not only men) become increasing selfish the older they get, and ill- health seems to accelerate their selfishness. There is little you can do about that, except point out that his attitude is making a difficult situation harder for you.

Language is a barrier when health issues arise, could you afford to pay a professional medical interpreter if he seeks treatment in France? It is perhaps a solution worth looking into.

I hope you find some solution to the problem.

I have no idea whether he is entitled to use the NHS or not, but look out for trouble when or if Brexit becomes a reality!

For your own sake next time he is home tell him what you have told us. Have an idea of how you want things to be. If he still can't or won't consider you at all you are going to have to think carefully about your position. I think he sounds scared, understands the system under the NHS and feels safer in England, if that is the case maybe you do need to consider a move.

For heaven’s sake. NHS loses billions(?) on ''health tourist''
Someone who has worked all their life in the UK, paid tax and NI, is in receipt of a U.K. pension but has chosen to spend some part of their retirement in France is not a ‘health tourist’!