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brooklynite

(94,840 posts) Fri Apr 3, 2015, 04:05 PM Apr 2015

Basic NHS services could be charged for after general election, BMA chief says

Source: The Guardian

Patients could have to start to pay charges to use basic NHS services such as GPs because the health service’s finances have become so dire, the leader of Britain’s doctors has warned.

Dr Mark Porter, the head of the British Medical Association (BMA), said that whoever takes office after the general election will inevitably be tempted to bring in charges and may not be deterred by the unpopularity of such a seismic change to the health service.

In an interview with the Guardian, Porter said: “I think they will be tempted. They said in 1950 that a Labour government wouldn’t introduce charging and it did.”

...snip...

No leading politician from any of the three main parties has backed charges, but Professor Sir Malcolm Grant, the chair of NHS England, said in 2013 that “it’s something which a future government will wish to reflect [on], unless the economy has picked up sufficiently, because we can anticipate demand for NHS services rising by about 4% to 5% per annum”.

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/apr/03/basic-nhs-services-could-be-charged-for-after-general-election-bma-chief-says

6 replies

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Basic NHS services could be charged for after general election, BMA chief says (Original Post) brooklynite Apr 2015 OP

I don't suppose anybody's thought of raising taxes on the haves? raccoon Apr 2015 #1

There would have to be a change in government in the UK .. ananda Apr 2015 #2

Well, they are on the cusp of an election. Chan790 Apr 2015 #3

How I wish that National Health Action Party were standing where I live T_i_B Apr 2015 #6

If Labour wants a majority government, they had better step it up. roamer65 Apr 2015 #4

There is a nominal fee in the French system Pooka Fey Apr 2015 #5

raccoon

(31,130 posts)

1. I don't suppose anybody's thought of raising taxes on the haves?

Reply to brooklynite (Original post)

Fri Apr 3, 2015, 04:27 PM

Apr 2015

I guess that would go over as well in UK as in the USA.....

ananda

(28,889 posts)

2. There would have to be a change in government in the UK ..

Reply to raccoon (Reply #1)

Fri Apr 3, 2015, 05:10 PM

Apr 2015

.. for that to happen.

Chan790

(20,176 posts)

3. Well, they are on the cusp of an election.

Reply to ananda (Reply #2)

Fri Apr 3, 2015, 06:26 PM

Apr 2015

That's what I'd be running on..."No NHS basic-service fees ever!"

T_i_B

(14,749 posts)

6. How I wish that National Health Action Party were standing where I live

Reply to Chan790 (Reply #3)

Tue Apr 7, 2015, 07:33 AM

Apr 2015

http://nhap.org/

The National Health Action Party is a political party formed by doctors, nurses, paramedics and ordinary people who've come together to defend and improve the NHS. We want a society built on compassion and decency, not fear and self-interest.

roamer65

(36,747 posts)

4. If Labour wants a majority government, they had better step it up.

Reply to brooklynite (Original post)

Fri Apr 3, 2015, 06:34 PM

Apr 2015

The NHS was the product of a Labour government and they had better make it a campaign pledge for no user fees.

Pooka Fey

(3,496 posts)

5. There is a nominal fee in the French system

Reply to brooklynite (Original post)

Fri Apr 3, 2015, 06:51 PM

Apr 2015

It costs €23 upfront to see the a general practitioner, and then €16 is reimbursed by the health system directly to your bank account, so it costs €7 to see the doctor. Many people have a supplemental insurance - called a Mutuelle, either through their employer or purchased themselves, which will reimburse this cost.

Low income persons can apply for the CMU which permits one to see the doctor without paying any money upfront and which pays the entire cost of a medical visit.

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