Summer is here!
©2014 Am Ang Zhang
BUPA
is right now paying insured to use NHS!!!
The official letter from Bupa detailing the
scheme is headlined: “Giving our members improved choice.”
The patient, speaking on condition of anonymity,
said he was “shocked” to be encouraged to seek treatment on the NHS in exchange
for money.
The letter said: “The payment you will receive
depends on the cardiac treatment you need.
"Payments usually range from between £500
to £2,000.”
Operations can cost fives times more than the
cash payments offered by Bupa. One procedure patients can pocket £2,000 for
having on the NHS is for a pacemaker to be fitted.
BUPA raked in a staggering
£2.57billion in revenue last year, and pocketed £139million in profit - up 26%
on 2012.
Consultant oncologist Dr
Clive Peedell, co-leader of the National Health Action party, accused Bupa of
“cashing in on the NHS”.
He said: “It’s disgusting
that a leading private healthcare company is paying patients to use the NHS.
“This is an outrageous
example of how the private healthcare sector is happy to take patients’ money
but then has to turn to the NHS when it realises it can’t afford to meet the
high cost of treating patients privately.
“This underlines yet again
that private healthcare is all about the money.”
Dr Peedell added: “It
looks like Bupa have calculated that it’s cheaper for them to pay patients to
use the NHS than fork out themselves for private treatment which would cost
them thousands of pounds.
"They are effectively
cashing in on the NHS.”
How the NHS can strike back!!!
1: Legislate that
Insurers must pay for NHS treatment.
The official letter from Bupa detailing the scheme is headlined: “Giving our members improved choice.”
The patient, speaking on condition of anonymity, said he was “shocked” to be encouraged to seek treatment on the NHS in exchange for money.
The letter said: “The payment you will receive depends on the cardiac treatment you need.
"Payments usually range from between £500 to £2,000.”
Operations can cost fives times more than the cash payments offered by Bupa. One procedure patients can pocket £2,000 for having on the NHS is for a pacemaker to be fitted.
"In fact, to save money, government can buy insurance
for
the mental patients and the chronically ill."
It must be very obvious that all the talk about medical cover for visitors to England
Could this be because insurers have managed not to cover for everything. One need to ask the question on how one ever travel to the US
It may well be prudent for government to insist that non EU visitors to this country must have mandatory Health Insurance as part of the admission requirement. This should apply to students and tourists alike. After all nobody in their right mind would dream of going to the US
We have managed to get people to insure their cars, why not their bodies.
There is of course the need to fully control Health Insurers for those that live in England
Let people opt out of the NHS if it is so bad! But Insurers need to cover every thing.
Let people opt out of the NHS if it is so bad! But Insurers need to cover every thing.
Citizens could be given a tax break and yet have the insurance policy incorporated into their NI/NHS number so that those with the tax break, the insurer will be charged for every kind of medical care they receive if they were within the NHS.
Summary of a popular post:
· Ends discrimination against people with pre-existing conditions.
· Limits premium spread to normal, high risk and healthy risk to say under 20% either way of normal.
· Limits premium discrimination based on gender and age.
· Prevents insurance companies from dropping coverage when people are sick and need it most.
· Caps out-of-pocket expenses so people don’t go broke when they get sick.
· Eliminates extra charges for preventive care.
· Contribute to an ABTA style cover.
©2014 Am Ang Zhang
We could legislate that Insurers will have to pay for any NHS treatment for those covered by them. It will stop Insurers “gaming” NHS hospitals. This will prevent them saving on costly dialysis and Intensive Care. Legislate for full disclosure of Insured status.
Insurers cannot drop coverage or treatment after a set period and even if they do they will still be charged if the patient is transferred to an NHS Hospital
This will eliminate problems like PIP breast implants.
It will indeed encourage those that could afford it to buy insurance and in any case most firms offer insurance for their employees including the GMC.
To prevent gaming of Insurers by individual patients (I look after their interest too), the medical fee should be paid up front by the patient and then deduction taken from premiums. Corporate clients like those with the GMC should not be gaming Insurers.
Imagine the situation where those with “Personal Health Budgets ” being able to “buy” their own insurance!
In fact, to save money, government can buy insurance for the mental patients and the chronically ill.
This way there will be real choice and insurers will be competing with each other to provide the worst deal.
Why?
What Health Insurer will want the business?
Perhaps they will go back to the US
