NHS patients 'should pay £10 monthly membership fee'
Former Labour health minister Lord Warner claims member scheme could secure £2bn a year for NHS
THE NHS should be topped up with a £10-a-month "membership fee" to prevent it from going bust, a former Labour health minister has suggested.
Lord Warner, who served under Tony Blair, has warned that the NHS is facing a "care and cash crisis", with an expected shortfall of £30bn a year by 2020, and needs new sources of funding to remain viable.
"Many politicians and clinicians are scared to tell people that our much-beloved 65-year-old NHS no longer meets the country's needs," he writes in The Guardian. "Frankly, it is often poor value for money. The NHS now represents the greatest public spending challenge after the general election."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Warner believes we have to "escape the constraints of general taxation if we want a decent system". He estimates that a £10-a-month membership scheme, with free membership for those exempt from prescription charges, could produce more than £2bn a year in additional funding.
In return for the fee, Warner suggests everyone in the UK of working age would be entitled to an annual "health MOT". The fee would be collected with council tax to fund local preventative health care.
But the British Medical Association has condemned the idea as an "NHS tax on patients" that would threaten the underlying principles of the health care system. One doctor said it was politically "as poisonous as the poll tax". NHS England and the Royal College of GPs also oppose charging patients for access to care, while the Department of Health said: "The founding principles of the NHS make it universally free at point of use and we are clear that it will continue to be so. This government doesn't support the introduction of membership fees or anything like them."
Warner, who has co-authored a report for the think-tank Reform, says revenue could also come from higher "sin" taxes on alcohol, tobacco and sugary foods, while visitors staying overnight in hospitals should pay "hotel charges".
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Quincy Jones, music icon, is dead at 91
Speed Read The legendary producer is perhaps best known as the architect behind Michael Jackson's 'Thriller'
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Moldova's pro-West president wins 2nd term
Speed Read Maia Sandu beat Alexandr Stoianoglo, despite suspicions of Russia meddling in the election
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
2024 race ends with swing state barnstorming
Speed Read Kamala Harris and Donald Trump held rallies in battlegrounds over the weekend
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
A 'transformative' gene therapy for haemophilia B
The Explainer Costly treatment that could be 'truly life-changing' for patients with rare blood disorder gets funding boost
By Julia O'Driscoll, The Week UK Published
-
Infected blood scandal: will justice be served?
Today's Big Question Government apologises for 'decades-long moral failure' and promises £10bn compensation but true accountability may take far longer
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Immunotherapy and hay fever
The Explainer Research shows that the treatment could provide significant relief from symptoms for many hay fever sufferers
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
The pros and cons of universal health care
Pros and Cons A medical system that serves everyone comes with its own costs, and they're not only financial
By Rebecca Messina, The Week UK Last updated
-
Martha's Rule: patients given right to urgent second opinion
The Explainer Hospitals in England will launch new scheme that will allow access to a rapid treatment review
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
The contaminated blood scandal
The Explainer Widely regarded as the worst treatment disaster in the history of the NHS, the public inquiry is due to publish its report in May
By The Week UK Published
-
Can Britain's dental crisis be fixed?
The Explainer New proposals include more money for dentists working in under-served areas
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
Babylon Health: the failed AI wonder app that 'dazzled' politicians
The Explainer Demise of UK tech start-up is a cautionary tale for politicians seeking quick fixes to complicated problems
By The Week UK Last updated