Claiming Travel Expenses: Are You Eligible For Nhs Reimbursement?

If you need to travel to receive NHS treatment, you may be able to claim a refund for reasonable travel costs under the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme (HTCS). To qualify, you must meet three criteria: you or your partner must receive certain benefits or allowances or meet the eligibility criteria for the NHS Low Income Scheme; you must have a referral for specialist care from a healthcare professional; and your appointment must be on a separate visit to when the referral was made. You can also claim travel costs for your children if they are eligible for treatment and you meet the above criteria.

Claiming travel costs for a child

If you are claiming a refund for transportation to an appointment for a child, the refund will be based on their parent or guardian's circumstances at the time of the appointment.

To qualify for help with travel costs under the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme (HTCS), you must meet three criteria:

Firstly, at the time of your appointment, you, your partner, or civil partner must receive one of the qualifying benefits or allowances. These include:

• Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Pension Credit Guarantee Credit
• Universal Credit (with certain criteria met)
• Child Tax Credits or Working Tax Credits with a disability element and an income of £15,276 or less for tax credit purposes
• Certificate HC2 (full help) or HC3 (limited help) for low income

Secondly, you must have a referral for specialist care from a healthcare professional to a specialist or a hospital for further NHS treatment or tests (often referred to as secondary care).

Thirdly, your appointment must be on a separate visit to when the referral was made. This applies whether your treatment is provided at a different location (hospital or clinic) or on the same premises as where the referral was issued.

If you are eligible for any of the benefits described in the first criteria and your child has been referred for treatment as outlined in the second and third criteria, you can claim travel costs for your children.

If your child is aged 16 or over, they may make their own claim under the Low Income Scheme.

You can also claim travel costs for an escort if your healthcare professional says it's medically necessary for someone to travel with you. Some integrated care boards (ICBs) may accept claims for help with travel costs if you're the parent or guardian of a child under the age of 16 who you have to bring with you to your appointment. These payments are made on the basis of the patient's eligibility for the scheme, irrespective of the escort's eligibility.

To claim your travel costs, take your travel receipts, appointment letter or card, plus proof that you're receiving one of the qualifying benefits, to a nominated cashier's office. Nominated cashier's offices are located in the hospital or clinic that treated you. They'll assess your claim and make the payment directly to you.

Travel by taxi

If you need to travel by taxi to receive NHS treatment, you should agree to this in advance with the hospital or integrated care board (ICB) before you travel. Reimbursement for the cost of taxis is not normally permitted unless in exceptional circumstances where it is certified that their use was unavoidable and/or the cheapest means of travelling.

If you are a student and have been awarded Disabled Students Allowances (DSAs), you may be recommended taxi travel. If taxi travel has been recommended for 15 journeys or fewer in an academic year, you must pay the taxi company for each journey and ask for a receipt. You must then upload the receipts to your MyFunding account to be reimbursed. If you will exceed 15 journeys in an academic year, you must show your award letter to the taxi company, and they will set up an account with the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA). The taxi company must then email their invoices to the NHSBSA.

If you are not a student, you should keep your receipts and claim your expenses using an HC5 claim form. You can download and print the form, or order it online and have it posted to you. You can also get an HC5 form from your GP practice, pharmacy, Jobcentre, NHS hospital, dentist, or optician.

Travel by car

If you are travelling by car to an NHS hospital or premises for specialist treatment or tests, you may be able to claim a refund of your travel costs under the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme (HTCS). To qualify for this, you must meet three criteria: you or your partner must receive qualifying benefits or allowances, you must have a referral for specialist care, and your appointment must be on a separate visit to when the referral was made.

If your claim is approved, you will be reimbursed for the cost of fuel at the mileage rate used by your local integrated care board (ICB). You may also be able to claim for unavoidable car parking and toll charges. If you are travelling by car, it is recommended that you use the cheapest fuel option available and keep a record of your mileage, as well as any parking or toll charges incurred.

When claiming travel expenses, you will need to provide proof of your entitlement, such as your award notice or your NHS tax credit exemption certificate. You will also need to keep any fuel or parking receipts as proof of cost. If your place of treatment does not issue payments, you will need to claim your expenses using an HC5 claim form.

It is important to note that you cannot claim travel expenses if you are visiting someone in the hospital or visiting a primary care service provider for routine check-ups, vaccinations, or other services. Additionally, urgent primary care services during out-of-hours periods are also excluded from the scheme.

Travel by public transport

If you need to travel by public transport to a hospital or other NHS premises for specialist NHS treatment or diagnostic tests, you may be able to claim a refund of reasonable travel costs under the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme (HTCS). To qualify for help with travel costs under the HTCS, you must meet three criteria:

• At the time of your appointment, you or your partner must receive one of the qualifying benefits or allowances, or meet the eligibility criteria for the NHS Low-Income Scheme.
• You must have a referral for specialist care from a healthcare professional to a specialist or a hospital for NHS treatment or tests.
• Your appointment must be on a separate visit to when the referral was made, whether your treatment is provided at a different location or on the same premises as the referral.

If you are travelling by public transport, you should use the cheapest and most appropriate means of transport, which is usually public transport. If you travelled by car and your claim was approved, you would be reimbursed for the cost of fuel at the mileage rate used by your local integrated care board (ICB). You may also be able to claim for unavoidable car parking and toll charges.

If you need to use a taxi, you should agree this in advance with the hospital or ICB before you travel. Patients in London may be able to claim reimbursement of congestion charges or Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) charges.

Travel abroad for treatment

If you're travelling abroad for NHS-funded treatment, you may be able to claim for travel costs incurred when travelling from your home to the international railway station, port, or airport where you leave Great Britain and your international journey begins. This is treated the same as if you were travelling from home to receive NHS care in Great Britain. You can claim for these costs if you would normally qualify for help with travel costs through the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme (HTCS).

The cost of your travel from the port in Great Britain to the place of treatment abroad falls within NHS foreign travel expenses and cannot be claimed through the HTCS. NHS foreign travel expenses are necessary travel expenses that a person incurs when travelling abroad from a port in Great Britain to receive services arranged by the NHS.

You'll only be entitled to have NHS foreign travel expenses paid for when the health service body that made the arrangements for services to be provided overseas agrees to the mode and cost of travel, and the necessity of a companion (if applicable). This all has to happen before the costs are incurred.

If you do not follow the correct procedures, you may have to pay the full costs of your treatment. Your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) or UK Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) does not cover going abroad for planned medical treatments. An EHIC or GHIC is for "necessary healthcare" from state services when you're visiting the EU and Switzerland. Necessary healthcare means healthcare that becomes medically necessary during your stay, and you cannot reasonably wait until you're back in the UK to get it.

The UK has left the EU, and access to treatment in Europe has changed. The Planned Treatment (S2 funding route) may entitle you to NHS-funded treatment in a European Economic Area (EEA) country or Switzerland. Even with the S2 route, some countries may require you to pay a proportion of the costs. If you wish to use this route, you must get prior authorisation from NHS England before receiving treatment.

The EU directive route is an arrangement between you and the NHS. Using this route means you'll have to pay the cost of your treatment abroad upfront and then claim eligible costs from the NHS when you return. You can only apply for reimbursement for treatment that started or was approved before 11 pm on 31 December 2020.

Frequently asked questions