Former chancellor Sir Sajid Javid has said that the UK is “long overdue” a “serious conversation with taxpayers about how we continue funding” the NHS, as he introduced a report that backs a shift towards a social insurance model.
Sir Sajid, also a former health secretary, said the country “cannot afford” to “bury our heads in the sand” when it comes to how the UK pays for healthcare.
His comments are part of the foreword for the PolicyExchange’s report The NHS – A Suitable Case For Treatment.
The centre-right thinktank suggests that “better quality healthcare” could be delivered “by moving from our present entirely socialised model to a hybrid model with a significant social insurance component”.
They also advocate changes such as removing free prescriptions for over-60s, but the report says that “under no circumstances” should the UK try to replicate the US model of healthcare.
Introducing the paper, Sir Sajid described the NHS as “one of our country’s most treasured and beloved national institutions”.
“We’ve come to a crossroads. A serious conversation with taxpayers about how we continue funding their favourite national institution is long overdue,” he said.
He said that the UK is left with the options of putting more money into healthcare through tax rises or “reforming” the system.
“What we cannot afford to do is to bury our heads in the sand,” he added.
“The responsible politician, the one who is concerned with the national interest, must look at every option for reform,” Sir Sajid said.
The PolicyExchange report says that “under no circumstances should the UK consider moving towards the US model”, but that other countries “with some sort of insurance-based model do much better” such as France, Germany and Singapore.
“We believe that better quality healthcare with universal coverage and improved long-term funding sustainability could be secured by moving from our present entirely socialised model to a hybrid model with a significant social insurance component,” the report says.
Alongside a shift towards a “social-insurance based system of financing healthcare”, the thinktank made a number of recommendations for reforms that could be made within the existing NHS model.
Among the changes the PolicyExchange suggest are a £20 charge for visiting a GP, with low-income groups exempt.
They also say that people over 60 should no longer be universally eligible for free prescriptions, and the exemption should be determined by your income.
They also advocate charges for “more luxurious hospital accommodation”, which they say could raise £700million.
PolicyExchange advocate a system where universal healthcare coverage is available, and a basic model can be supplemented by other policies.
The Government would regulate insurers and healthcare providers, and they say the system should still be called the NHS, with the main change being the way it is financed.
