Private medical insurance (PMI) is expensive and inflexible with too many exclusions, according to t...
Private medical insurance (PMI) is expensive and inflexible with too many exclusions, according to the Conservative Opposition.
But in outlining plans for the health service under a future Tory government, Dr Liam Fox, shadow health minister, has embraced the role of the private sector as a supplement to the NHS.
While confirming that the NHS would remain as a comprehensive service, free at point of use and funded from central taxation under Tory rule, Fox said he wanted to see fundamental changes to PMI, making it accessible to a larger number of people.
He said: "We will seek to give greater choice to the widest number of people by creating a framework for a dramatic reduction in the costs of private healthcare and seeking an expansion of the private health sector through an increased use of employer-based schemes."
Fox suggested that this could be achieved through a more effective public-private partnership and the adoption of the Conservatives' proposed 'Patients Guarantee'.
This would mean each patient would be guaranteed treatment for their condition within a specified period, and where this is not possible treatment would be carried out in an alternative health authority or in the private sector.
Fox said: "I believe the Patients Guarantee can provide the mechanism for fundamental changes to private health insurance. If patients know that the most serious conditions will be guaranteed treatment within a maximum time under the NHS there will be no need for them to seek inclusion of these in private healthcare policies.
"This should enable the private sector to offer policies that are more closely tailored to individuals' needs and to dramatically reduce their cost."
Abbey National has already confirmed that premiums on its contracts could be reduced by around 30% if the Patients Guarantee scheme was used on cardiology and oncology patients.
Fox also said that he wanted to encourage uptake of employer-based schemes by offering tax breaks to employers.
"We want to see an expansion of provision through trade unions and employers. At the moment there are two major disincentives in the taxation system - the tax on benefits in kind which affects employees and the recent extension to NI contributions to employers. These will be among a number of factors we will need to review if we are to see growth in employer-based schemes.
"We want businesses to take advantage of any newly created products in a way that would dramatically extend private coverage to many people who would not think to buy or could not afford personal cover," Fox said.
