On Mon, 22 Sep 2008 21:21:52 +0100, John Rumm
 wrote:

>Mark wrote:
>
>> How could the NHS be better off if they are subsidizing Private
>> treatment?  This would mean that people unable to afford private
>> insurance would be even worse off.
>
>By getting to keep a proportion of the funding allocated to that 
>treatment, without having to provide the service. If the patient did not 
>go private then the NHS would cop for the full cost of providing treatment.

If lots of people took this service then it would result in a major
scaling down of the NHS and it could become more expensive to treat
patients due to a lack of "economy of scale".  Furthermore increased
demand in private healthcare would result in an increase in prices
charged so the proportion of the cost paid to the private companies
would, IMHO, become more than the whole cost used to be.

>>> As for a two (or more) tier health service - we already have one inside 
>>> the NHS so you may as well get used to it. The service they offer varies 
>>> in quality from first rate, through abysmal, to "will kill you". Which 
>>> you get seems to be luck of the draw (or postcode).
>> 
>> Any service variations within the NHS is not by design, but down to
>> poor management. 
>
>The last thing it needs is more management.

I didn't say they need more management.  It needs better mangement.

>> OTOH Private/NHS treatment is inherantly two-tier.
>
>Which is fine and acceptable in every other public service, so why not 
>health care?

But it isn't acceptable in every other public service and especially
not in healthcare or education.

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Mark wrote:
> If lots of people took this service then it would result in a major
> scaling down of the NHS and it could become more expensive to treat
> patients due to a lack of "economy of scale".  Furthermore increased
> demand in private healthcare would result in an increase in prices
> charged so the proportion of the cost paid to the private companies
> would, IMHO, become more than the whole cost used to be.
> 
The NHS is one of the largest organisations in the world.  Lack of scale 
is the least of its problems.  Only if *most* people opted out would it 
become small enough for that to matter.

Andy