will BA accept UK citizen who may be sick with no insurance to fly from US back to UK
 

it took over 7 business days for the refund to show up as paid and another 3 days before it finally appeared on the bank account.

If he suspects he is Covid-19 positive, the last place he will want to be is in an aircraft. It doesn't do good things to one's respiratory system. If BA were aware of someone showing the classic symptoms the captain is most unlikely to agree to passage, unless it had been agreed to in advance via BA's medical team.

Note that non resident Britons do not necessarily get free treatment on the NHS, other than primary treatment.

Obviously nobody can give you specific advice except the airline themselves. BA’s information can be found https://www.britishairways.com/en-gb...-and-pregnancy.

id suggest that it is unlikely any airline would agree to combat someone with a suspicion of an infectious disease, particularly a respiratory one not only due to the risks to other passengers, but also because of the hypoxia of the flight as this could cause a need to divert or worse.

If it is a concern, is there a reason they are remaining in the US and not already travelled back to Sweden whilst well?

EEA citizens get free NHS treatment (but may have to pay for things such as prescriptions like UK citizens).

Further, the Uk made a decision to treat all people for Coronavirus irrespective of status, including a test even if it is negative. If it is negative, citizens from countries who do not have a reciprocal health agreement with the Uk may well be charged.

If he is ill then he should not be travelling.

It has nothing to do with citizenship or residence or if they have insurance or not.

What it it you are actually asking though that other airlines have on ther websites but BA apparenty does not?

And access to free NHS services is based on residency not nationality.

I think it's EEA plus Switzerland residents, rather than citizens. Plus the reciprocal arrangements. I can't see how someone British or Swedish living in the USA would be covered, for example.

but the hospital has already advised him that they would not treat him because of the bankruptcy he filed last year. (which was due to $37,000 medical debt that he incurred at this same hospital) They said the exception would be if he made prior financial arrangement or had "full blow coronavirus and the ambulance brings him in on stretchers"(since the US has laws making ER treatment mandatory. the hospital is a private health system with a dozen large hospitals... and they have a virtual monopoly in that area.(meaning all 12 hospitals are linked and can see his financial records)

It can't be much worse for him at any random hospital in the UK if he makes it back, right? they'll at least start to treat him and then make him figure out a way to pay later, right?

There is absolutely no way he will be accepted on a BA flight if he has COVID19 symptoms. I'm surprised you even need to ask that, tbh.

If he’s that concerned and after gratis health care, maybe he should just fly home now whilst he’s healthy.

which is what I said to him last night....

by the way, he's not after free health care. he was laid off from his company... then lost his insurance. his new company did not offer any health insurance, so he had to buy private health insurance on his own, which was almost $2000 per month, with a $5000 deductible, for himself. Then he broke his arm just 6 days before his new $$$ insurance plan was scheduled to kick in.

he wouldn’t be treated in a Uk hospital unless he was serious and had full blown symptoms either tho.

What are you expecting to happen in the UK compared to the situation in the US? It doesn’t sound like there is any advantage to be had moving.

Being in the US without insurance during a pandemic by choice is reckless. Tell your friend to get out of there while he can.

If/ when he gets Covid symptoms he needs to stay out wherever he is and not infect other people.

I'm refering to an NHS UK hospital not a US one.

But I retiterete if he is ill then he shouldn't be flying at all and putting other people at risk.

he was laid off from his company... then lost his insurance. his new company did not offer any health insurance, so he had to buy private health insurance on his own, which was almost $2000 per month, with a $5000 deductible, for himself. Then he broke his arm just 6 days before his new $$$ insurance plan was scheduled to kick in. that resulted in a $37,000 bill which he couldn't pay.(except about $10,000 from his own savings) after he declared bankruptcy due to this one medical bill, he lost his new job and could not afford to buy health insurance.....

mad I understand it, it is a bit more compicated than residency, and includes EEA citizens abroad provided they would still be covered by national health insurance schemes in that EEA country, so for example some UK Pensioners can still be entitled to treatment in the UK.

for further details, here is the official DHSC guide https://assets.publishing.service.go...-_Feb_2020.pdf

to reassure the OP, life saving treatment would not be withheld in an NHS hospital, nor would treatment for Covid-19 be charged. However this would rely on him getting to the UK.

Is this the same person from over a month ago?
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/omni...an-she-do.html