Couple's £800 Guernsey health insurance bill

An elderly couple have spoken out against the "high" cost of health insurance when travelling to Guernsey.

Grace and David Rihoy, both 78, who live in Northamptonshire, visited relatives in Guernsey and ended up paying nearly £800 in health insurance for Mrs Rihoy, who has cancer.

Mr Rihoy said the cost could force him to travel alone in the future.

The UK government ended a reciprocal health agreement with Guernsey in 2009, saying it was not cost-effective.

This means that anyone travelling from Guernsey to the UK or the reverse has to pay the full cost of any healthcare needed.

Mr Rihoy, who is a regular visitor to the island, said the couple had tried to shop around for insurance but this was the cheapest they could find.

"I am a Guernseyman and we come here regularly," said Mr Rihoy. "My family is here and we like it here, but we can't keep on paying that sort of money."

Mrs Rihoy, who is in remission for bone marrow cancer, said: "I have been ill; I have a condition which is not curable but is treatable. The doctors told me I am fit enough to travel."

She said her husband's relatives were elderly and so could not travel to England to see them.

She added: "The insurance was much more than we paid for our whole holiday. For the two of us, the cost of travel and bed and breakfast was the same as the insurance for me."

In January, States members will debate a proposal by Deputy Jan Kuttelwascher, which calls for some of the £2.7m earmarked for tourism and marketing to be put towards the cost of a new health agreement.

Commerce and Employment Minister Deputy Kevin Stewart said the suggestion was "the most crazy idea I have heard since coming to the States".