The impact of the case law on patient mobility of the European Court of Justice upon the development of EU law and policy in relation to health care

This thesis takes the view that there has been a spillover from internal market integration into the area of health care policy, consistent with the neo-functionalist theory of European integration, in spite of the reluctance of the Member States to relinquish control in this area.;This research considers the responses of the EU institutions to the patient mobility judgements and evaluates the legislative and policy initiatives leading from the case law, and influenced by it. It is contended that the impact of the case law has been significantly wider than simply according individuals the right to be reimbursed for cross border treatment. In particular, it is argued that the case law has acted both as a catalyst, and as a justification, for policy development and attempts at legislative action in the field of health care, which seek to go beyond a codification of the case law into other aspects of health care policy. Furthermore, whilst the case law starts from an internal market perspective, an analysis of the relationship between the conditions for access to cross border care contained in the case law on patient mobility and the fundamental right to health care shows a substantial degree of consistency between the two.;In conclusion, it is suggested that, in the evolving role of the EU in relation to health care, there are signs of a shift away from the conception of health care as a service within the internal market and towards an approach which recognises an autonomous right to health care.