Last week concerns were raised that the States had been issuing attestation health insurance certificates to Islanders who are not officially covered by the law for the past 38 years.
At the time, a government spokesperson was unable to confirm which Islanders were covered by the law, or whether Jersey may owe backdated medical costs to France.
Chief Minister John Le Fondré said he would be taking expert advice on the interpretation of the law which defines ‘nationals’ as those with Islander status. To gain such a status, the Islander must have been born in Jersey, not lived in the UK for more than five consecutive years and have parents who are also Islanders.
Now, in a statement, the government has announced that it has reached a clearer understanding of who is covered under the attestation agreement, and that it includes all British citizens living in Jersey.
However, it has emphasised the limitations of the agreement and that it cannot be relied on to provide full health cover in France.
Senator Le Fondré said that the raising of this matter had caused concerns, especially in the context of changes that might be anticipated for the Island as a result of Brexit.
‘Now that we have established the facts of the matter it is clear that we can continue to issue valid attestations to all British citizens living in Jersey. I am disappointed that a number of articles have been published that have created unfounded concerns among Islanders who may rely on this reciprocal agreement, especially when we are working hard to manage anticipated changes as a result of Brexit.’
However, other Islanders have responded to the news coverage with claims that similar uncertainty exists with the health agreements the Island has with other countries.
Linda Houzé, whose daughter dislocated her finger on a trip to Austria in December last year, said that her correspondence with Social Security revealed a general confusion in the department over which countries the Island has agreements with and how it is possible to claim against them.
‘At the end of last year my daughter dislocated her finger skiing in Austria,’ she said. ‘She went to the local hospital and received a bill for 620 euros. She did have insurance but, because there was no available information about what Jersey’s reciprocal health agreement with Austria actually covers, she had to pay the bill upfront. We still haven’t been able to discover whether she actually needed to do that or not.
‘The policy excess left us £200 out of pocket and we also had to pay a transaction fee because the bill was in euros.
‘After several frustrating calls, when I was passed from Social Security to Health and back, I was told that they really didn’t know if a deal was in place.’
When questioned about this, a government spokesman told the JEP: ‘Information regarding reciprocal health agreements is under review,’ he said, ‘and we anticipate that the website will be updated in due course.’
