Boris Johnson has said it's 'right' that coronavirus care staff from overseas should pay thousands of pounds to use the NHS.
Declaring the health service a "national service, a national institution", the Prime Minister refused to back calls for care workers to be exempted from the Immigration Health Surcharge.
Migrant workers risking their lives on the front lines of the coronavirus crisis will be forced to pay £624 a year to access NHS services from October.
It means migrant staff have to pay twice for healthcare in the UK - once in their visa and again in taxes on their earnings.