Paying for the NHS??

[venusbluejeans]

Hiya All,

So after listening to the news in the car this morning, I heard this and just wondered what opinion you all had it in it......

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/mar/31/nhs-users-pay-membership-charge

[t0rt01se36]

I think it is a good idea.

I think people who can afford it, should pay £10 extra each month, to save the NHS getting into Financial difficulty, if it meant that patients would continue to get help and more done for hospital food and new equipment.

[Rennie1989]

If it guaranteed me being seen by a doctor when I need to and not having to wait 10 months for CBT then fair enough. I still think it takes the mickey when I pay National Insurance every month that is meant to pay towards the NHS. If we started paying this £10 a month and no changes happened in the first year then I'd feel robbed.

Or, a better idea, government should be more assertive towards the rich people/companies and tax them properly, then this issue, along with cuts in other areas, wouldn't happen.

[PanchoGoz]

I think it's a good idea. Plus I am employed by them so I will probably not have to pay, win win.

[I'mdave27]

If it allows me to see doctor in reasonable time , 2 week wait at the moment , then it could be a good idea. It will certainly get people working or does it not effect them ? Is it applied to foreigners ? I hope so because I don't think it would be fair on people like myself who work full time struggling to get by to pay for others nhs membership

[Edie]

I understand that the NHS needs more funding, but my opinion is it should come from elsewhere. I am a student with physical health problems besides my anxiety, so I am unable to work many hours at all. I probably could find £10 a month but it would not be easy. Many people would struggle and if you could not pay it may mean some people cannot access treatment for long-term health problems which are the cause of them not having much money. That seems unfair to me.

[rachel m]

Frankly i dont think it would work. £605 million was uncollected in council tax arrears in the uk 2011/12 so how? by adding an extra £10 to your council tax bill will solve the problem.... simple. It wont. Its ok for the rich. Whats an extra £10 to them. The poor would proberbly be exempt. So it boils down to the working class being stung. The NHS will end up operating like the airlines, FIRST CLASS, SECOND CLASS, AND ECONOMY. The goverment should rethink its foreign policy and cut back on the billions of pounds in aid it sends abroad each year.

[PanchoGoz]

I think the level paid should depend on your income, on second thoughts. A set 10 pounds doesn't really make sense

[harasgenster]

I will pay more towards the NHS because I believe in it and I don't want it to fail. However, what's wrong with just raising tax/national insurance the requisite amount instead of adding another charge? That's how we normally pay for the NHS. A flat fee like this will be easy for the rich and the middle classes, but people are already struggling when on lower wages or unemployed. Taxes are rightly charged on a sliding scale according to your income (except VAT), so they should use the system already set up for this purpose. Seems an odd way to go about it to me, I don't fully grasp their intentions.

[Rennie1989]

They're was an article about foreigners coming over to the UK only to exploit our free health care. I support a membership could stop that, but I'd imagine it would cost more to set up then the savings made.

[harasgenster]

They're was an article about foreigners coming over to the UK only to exploit our free health care. I support a membership could stop that, but I'd imagine it would cost more to set up then the savings made.

All official statistics disprove so-called health tourism. Immigrants are significantly less likely to use the NHS than those who are born in the UK (because they're overwhelmingly of working age, so they are a lot healthier than our ageing population). The main reason for migration to the UK from less developed countries is to find work and most immigrants have work before they even come here (ironically it's often in the NHS).

It would also be against a doctor's hippocratic oath - quite rightly - to refuse treatment to someone who needed it, so I hope that this levy would not mean that immigrants new to the country are refused treatment.

I also hope non-payment of the levy due to serious mental health problems, drug abuse, homelessness or poverty would not count against someone who needed treatment.

[Fishmanpa]

Start this type of thread here in the US and it would be akin to starting a nuclear war! ~lol~

Positive thoughts

[harasgenster]

Start this type of thread here in the US and it would be akin to starting a nuclear war! ~lol~

Positive thoughts

Haha! I actually thought about that earlier :) Strange how different our cultures can be sometimes, although there are definitely demographics within Britain who would be appalled at the idea of welfare. :D

[MyNameIsTerry]

No, I dont agree with it at all. I would only considerate this at the point where our tax system was working properly and our politicians werent skimming.

How much unpaid corporation tax did we lose in the 5 years?


Its always amusing when a former political figure, now lord declares a greater tax on the lower income sector.

[Magic]

I agree with Terry. Whatever will they be asking us to towards next??

[Rennie1989]

I agree, MyNameIsTerry and Magic. I remember whilst doing my nursing we were discussing about the history of the NHS. It's intention was completely free healthcare for all, then when it became too costly dental examinations and treatment, optical examinations, glasses, wigs and prescriptions all had to be charged (subject to your situation of course) to reduce to burden of the debt. If we all have to pay £10 for a monthly NHS membership (isn't that what National Insurance is?) then will we have to start paying for doctor's appointments, ambulance service, x-rays, food in hospitals etc? One day it will no longer be the NHS but just HS.

[I'mdave27]

This is the only country I know where we take whatever they give us. Britain and America are dumbed down with fake reality t.v shows eg ; the only way is essex , jersey shore , geordie shore , that's only a few. They have shows like x factor to make us all feel connected by voting etc when we clearly know it's all fixed , it's so obvious , music isn't what it used to be because god forbid you speak some truth. Music is aimed at keeping us and our children at the lower frequency levels of consciousness but we're to stupid to see or fight because we're dead brain with fluoride in water and toothpaste

[Catherine S]

What confuses me though, is why does Scotland get more from the NHS for free than England and Wales (sorry not sure about N.Ireland) do, and don't have to pay for perscriptions and eye tests etc....isn't it all supposed to be the same system? I know other parts of western europe pay a little more from their salaries then we do with our NI and they generally speaking have a better quality health service.

[Rennie1989]

Dave - I think you're going off tangent there.

I Still Believe - I have no idea and I think it's unfair. We have to pay £9k a year to go to uni whilst it's free tuition in Scotland. Takes the mickey a bit.

[Magic]

Yes Rennie. How unfair is that? I remember when my girls went to college and uni. We were asked about our finances and we paid something towards their fees.
My eldest got a job cleaning at six a clock in the morning before lectures at one college, and we helped out with extras.
I just don't understand!

[harasgenster]

What confuses me though, is why does Scotland get more from the NHS for free than England and Wales (sorry not sure about N.Ireland) do, and don't have to pay for perscriptions and eye tests etc....isn't it all supposed to be the same system? I know other parts of western europe pay a little more from their salaries then we do with our NI and they generally speaking have a better quality health service.

NHS Scotland, while still part of the NHS, is run separately and is paid for by the Scottish.

The Scottish Parliament decides these things for Scotland. So don't worry, England and Wales aren't paying for the Scottish :)

[MyNameIsTerry]

I agree, MyNameIsTerry and Magic. I remember whilst doing my nursing we were discussing about the history of the NHS. It's intention was completely free healthcare for all, then when it became too costly dental examinations and treatment, optical examinations, glasses, wigs and prescriptions all had to be charged (subject to your situation of course) to reduce to burden of the debt. If we all have to pay £10 for a monthly NHS membership (isn't that what National Insurance is?) then will we have to start paying for doctor's appointments, ambulance service, x-rays, food in hospitals etc? One day it will no longer be the NHS but just HS.


A third of GP's backed charging £10 for visits to A&E hoping it would cut down on timewasters. This is always a lazy policy, I've seen it in the private sector in many guises in the past, and it's generally more about creating another revenue stream than improving services. It's always a good thing to punish everyone for the smaller number of time wasters...although defining time wasting would often be a blurred line to me e.g. worried mothers bringing their babies in. It could discourage genuine cases.

In my surgery there is a tariff of charges. I can't recall them all now but they seem a bit high to me especially when some are replacement FIT notes taking less than a minute to complete!

[Catherine S]

Harasgenster....thanks for making it clearer (a bit but it doesn't take much to confusle me!) Scotland obviously run their system better than central government in England, but why can't we all benefit in the same way though?

[harasgenster]

Harasgenster....thanks for making it clearer (a bit but it doesn't take much to confusle me!) Scotland obviously run their system better than central government in England, but why can't we all benefit in the same way though?

Probably easier because Scotland has a much lower population, but it's also a political thing. The Scottish also tend to be more left-leaning than the English and will vote for and support more left-leaning policies. There are also no university tuition fees in Scotland.

Now I think about it, Wales must have an NHS Wales because they have no prescription charges either.

Both of those countries tend to be further left than the English.

[MyNameIsTerry]

I think it's because they have worked to create their own parliaments whereas as England is stuck with the old dinosaur thats been there for centuries.

Anyway, I've got a way to say on money that should remove the need to pay £10 per month - scrap the House of Lords!!!