The NHS Business Services Authority is a special health authority

NHS Special Health Authority

A special health authority is a type of NHS trust which provide services on behalf of the National Health Service in England. Unlike other types of Trust, they operate nationally rather than serve a specific geographical area....

 of the National Health Service

National Health Service

The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...

 (NHS) in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 and Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

. It was created on 1 October 2005 following a review by the Department of Health

Department of Health (United Kingdom)

The Department of Health is a department of the United Kingdom government with responsibility for government policy for health and social care matters and for the National Health Service in England along with a few elements of the same matters which are not otherwise devolved to the Scottish,...

 of its "arm's length bodies". It began operating on 1 April 2006, bringing together five previously separate NHS business support organisations. It is currently under commercial review by the coalition government to determine the future of the body. This review is due to be published in December 2010.

Services

Since April 2009, the NHSBSA is managed based on its services, which are:

• Help With Health Costs
• Counter Fraud
• Security Management
• Dental Services
• NHS Injury Benefit Scheme
• NHS Pensions
• Prescription Services
• Student Bursary
• Social Work Bursary
• NHS Supply Chain
• European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) on behalf of the Department of Health
• Maternity Exemption Certificates
• Medical Exemption Certificates

Help with Health Costs

Help with Health Costs is a service provided by the NHSBSA which issues exemption certificates to those entitled, and sells Prescription Pre-payment Certificates (PPCs). The service is intended to assist those on low incomes who may be able to pay for their essential NHS charges.

The services offered by Help with Health Costs includes:

• The NHS Low Income Scheme, which assesses a family's income and outgoings to see if they can afford to pay NHS charges. Outcomes include HC2 certificates (for full help) and HC3 certificates (for partial help). Applications can be made using form HC1, which can be ordered from http://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/HealthCosts/1128.aspx . General enquiries about the scheme can be directed to 0845 850 1166.
• Prescription Pre-payment Certificates (or PPCs), which aim to lower the expense of NHS prescriptions by charging a pre-paid set fee as opposed to paying for each prescription item individually. PPCs can be ordered on 0845 850 0030, or online at http://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/ppc.
• Tax Credit Exemption Certificates, which are provided on behalf of Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs (HMRC) to those in receipt of Tax Credits within certain thresholds. Enquiries regarding the Tax Credit Exemption Certificates can be directed to 0845 609 9299.
• Medical Exemption Certificates, which are provided to people with a medical condition that exempts them from paying prescription charges. Medical Exemption enquiries can be directed to 0845 601 8076.
• Maternity Exemption Certificates, which are provided to people who are pregnant (or who have had a baby in the last 12 months) to enable them to have free prescriptions and NHS Dental treatment. Maternity Exemption enquiries can be directed to 0845 601 8076.

European Health Insurance Cards (EHICs)

Those travelling within Europe (and Switzerland) are advised by the Government to obtain a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) before they travel. The card entitles the holder to reduced charge (or sometimes free) health services whilst abroad.

Despite claims in the press, each EHIC has an individual expiry date, and the holder will not be covered if their card has expired at the time of travel.

Applications, renewals, replacements and general enquiries can be directed to 0845 605 0707. All applicants over the age of 16 are required to provide either an NHS number or National Insurance number when requested. Failure to provide this when requested will result in an application being discontinued.

Applications and renewals can also be made via the website at http://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/ehic

The EHIC service is free of charge.

Counter Fraud Service

The primary aim of the NHS Counter Fraud Service (NHSCFS) is to reduce fraud within the NHS. By keeping low levels of fraud maintained, this means that the right funds are available for better patient care and services.

Counter fraud work ranges from issuing penalty notices as a result of patients falsely claiming prescription charges to the multi-million-pound claims against drug companies for alleged price-fixing.

Using a 'problem-strategy-structure-action' approach, the NHS Counter Fraud Service has achieved 551 successful prosecutions and recovered almost £60,000,000 since 1998.