Overview

• Sir Sajid Javid introduced a Policy Exchange report calling for a shift from a fully socialised NHS to a hybrid social insurance funding model
• The report recommends charging patients £20 for GP appointments, scrapping universal free prescriptions for over-60s and levying fees for luxury hospital accommodation
• Authors argue that insurance funding could halve the NHS tax burden from 9% of GDP to about 4%, saving roughly £128 billion and cutting average taxes by £2,400 per household
• The paper warns against emulating the US system and highlights better outcomes in France, Germany, the Netherlands and Singapore under insurance-based models
• The Department of Health and Social Care says it will retain free-at-point-of-use care as it advances its existing ten-year reform strategy