I get really confused about this discussion. We already have private providers of private healthcare available via insurance or cash payments in England, and if a US company wants to come over and...
I get really confused about this discussion.
We already have private providers of private healthcare available via insurance or cash payments in England, and if a US company wants to come over and compete with private healthcare there isn't anything stopping them.
But also in England[1] the law already allows US companies to come over and run NHS services for NHS patients. Commissioners are forbidden in law from having a preference for one type of provider. I don't understand what is new in these documents.
The English NHS today already spends billions on non_NHS providers of NHS services. If we look at mental health we see Priory Group or Cygnet already provide lots of specialist mental health treatment. These hospitals are run by private providers, but take NHS patients who are paid for by NHS commissioners. There is nothing to stop US companies doing the same. And it's not limited to "specialist commissioning" either, we see organisations live live well south west taking over community care and mental health trusts. https://www.livewellsouthwest.co.uk/
The thing to get really worried about in these documents is medication pricing, and it's weird that Labour isn't making more noise about this. The US pays huge amounts for medication, and those prices would destroy the NHS. Have a look at eg mebendazole (a de-worming tablet on the WHO list of essential meds). In the UK this costs about £2.50 per tablet. https://bnf.nice.org.uk/medicinal-forms/mebendazole.html In the US this costs over £340 per tablet.
I think "NHS up for sale" is actually a pretty good soundbite to summarise the issue here - I agree that drug pricing is the biggest risk we've seen in these documents, but "the government is...
I think "NHS up for sale" is actually a pretty good soundbite to summarise the issue here - I agree that drug pricing is the biggest risk we've seen in these documents, but "the government is willing to harm our healthcare system by extending drug patents, thus funnelling money from the NHS to American pharmaceutical companies as part of a wider trade deal" doesn't exactly roll off the tongue. The messaging they're going with, at least for me, captures the essence of the issue without being dishonest.
They need to distill this news down to something that can fit in giant print on the side of a bus and drive it all around the UK for the next three weeks, because apparently that works.
They need to distill this news down to something that can fit in giant print on the side of a bus and drive it all around the UK for the next three weeks, because apparently that works.
I get really confused about this discussion.
We already have private providers of private healthcare available via insurance or cash payments in England, and if a US company wants to come over and compete with private healthcare there isn't anything stopping them.
But also in England[1] the law already allows US companies to come over and run NHS services for NHS patients. Commissioners are forbidden in law from having a preference for one type of provider. I don't understand what is new in these documents.
The English NHS today already spends billions on non_NHS providers of NHS services. If we look at mental health we see Priory Group or Cygnet already provide lots of specialist mental health treatment. These hospitals are run by private providers, but take NHS patients who are paid for by NHS commissioners. There is nothing to stop US companies doing the same. And it's not limited to "specialist commissioning" either, we see organisations live live well south west taking over community care and mental health trusts. https://www.livewellsouthwest.co.uk/
The thing to get really worried about in these documents is medication pricing, and it's weird that Labour isn't making more noise about this. The US pays huge amounts for medication, and those prices would destroy the NHS. Have a look at eg mebendazole (a de-worming tablet on the WHO list of essential meds). In the UK this costs about £2.50 per tablet. https://bnf.nice.org.uk/medicinal-forms/mebendazole.html In the US this costs over £340 per tablet.
I think "NHS up for sale" is actually a pretty good soundbite to summarise the issue here - I agree that drug pricing is the biggest risk we've seen in these documents, but "the government is willing to harm our healthcare system by extending drug patents, thus funnelling money from the NHS to American pharmaceutical companies as part of a wider trade deal" doesn't exactly roll off the tongue. The messaging they're going with, at least for me, captures the essence of the issue without being dishonest.
They need to distill this news down to something that can fit in giant print on the side of a bus and drive it all around the UK for the next three weeks, because apparently that works.
I have a printed estimate of (before health insurance costs) to have a baby at our local hospital. It's somewhere in the $20k+ range. Just put that.