On Sun, 14 Nov 2004 13:47:22 +0000, Andy Hall
wrote:

I know what I said. You chose to read something else into it. I
did not mention or imply the word charity and was very careful to say
that there should be a voucher system to make sure that everybody does
get money to spend on healthcare. What I don't want is the
government operating the delivery and I do want the ability to spend
my heathcare provision where I want and to top it up if I wish.

No I don't. It's perfectly simple. Close the NHS. Provide people
with vouchers or equivalent means of payment for healthcare services
at a place of their choice. Allow them the freedom to add to their
healthcare provision if they wish.

Hi,

I think the sticking point you have missed out is who decides the
value of the vouchers, it better not be politicians from a certain
party!

I'd be happy for them to do so if all their health care was paid for
wholly by the vouchers and nothing more, but hell would freeze over
before that happens!

The point is that if I do use an alternative service then I am freeing
up resources in the state operated facility. Therefore the
government should contribute an equivalent amount to the cost that
would have been incurred in the state facility towards my private
healthcare requirement. This is not asking to receive anything more
from the state than anybody else would get.
As it is, that doesn't happen and moreover there is tax and national
insurance to pay on the private insurance premiums. That is not
reasonable.

Again, the problem is that the funding of the NHS could be run down by
parties of a certain political persuasion, in order to pay for tax
cuts. This would affect the less well off more than the affluent who
could pay the extra to go private.

As an aside, someone I know is getting a private hip replacement at a
cost of 10.5K.

Looking at the NAO website, the cost of a NHS hip replacement works
out at 4.6K

I therefore expect that if the NHS was funded to the same level that
the private sector was, queues would disappear quite rapidly!

cheers,
Pete.