Charging to see Gp

[aliceBB]

If I pay insurance and don't claim, I'm still subsidising somebody elses care so no difference there, that's the nature of insurance. Taxation to pay for the NHS is just a form of state controlled health insurance.

 

True, but you are not talking about subsidising the rest of the population as a whole, but the elite few who are on average as healthy as you (otherwise your private health insurance company would not accept you in the first place).

[Mr Bloom]

You've got to ask why there are so many missed appointments these days.

 

Could it be something to do with that by the time you've waited a fortnight to see the Dr or a month to see the nurse, that you've sorted it out yourself, or it's got better on its own?

 

And don't say a phone call costs nothing! How many GPs are still running practises with business tariff phone lines?

 

I do agree though, that you should be fined for not attending, IF they have email facility for you to report that you won't be attending, so you can have proof of contacting them. I cancelled an appointment and was accused of missing it when I had cancelled.

 

As for charging to see a Dr - well that's going to do a lot to address the inequality of longevity between the rich and poor sections of our country, isn't it? But of course, this lot don't care about that. For the nation's sake, let's get this lot out.

[Andy]

I don't mind paying for any of my health care through private insurance contributions so long as I'm not also paying for it through taxation.

 

If there was no NHS, private insurance costs would increase significantly because:

1) The PMI still relies on the NHS - I have private medical insurance through work but if I'm ill, the first step is still to go and see my NHS GP.

2) PMI would move from being a luxury good to an essential. Therefore demand would become more inelastic and the insurer would be able to charge more for the same cover (due to there being no alternative)

3) As mentioned above who would cover the costs of training doctors, and would the training be to the same standard?

4) What about those who are poor and cannot afford insurance, or who have long term medical conditions which prevent them from getting insurance? Just leave them to die I suppose?

5) What about emergencies? Would you like the 999 operator to only send an ambulance once they've confirmed your premiums are up to date?

 

I pay a lot of tax and hardly ever use the NHS. I've seen my GP only once in the last three years. I am almost certainly subsidising others at the moment, but I don't object as access to healthcare is exactly what the state should be providing along with education, law and order and critical infrastructure.

[Doom]

^^^This.

 

If you're charging for an appointment and people can't see the doctor until they've coughed up then you've got them there in front of you to hand over the money. If you're charging them when they DON'T turn up then you have to chase them, and that's a completely different matter and will cost, at very least, admin charges, postal charges and the cost of setting up payment terminals or phone/internet payment facilities. How many £10/20 penalties will it take to pay for every trust to employ someone to do all of the chasing?

 

Why not pass on the charge the next time they need to see the Doctor, so that there's no admin fee chasing up the money.

 

When they phone up to make the appointment the computer flashes up that they owe the surgery £10 and then they can be told over the phone that the Doctor won't see them unless they cough up (see what I did there? ).

 

If they don't want to pay it they won't make the appointment.

 

If they do make the appointment but then don't turn up kick them off the Surgery's list. In future they'll have to use the drop in service if they need help, but for most people that is inconvenient.

 

I didn't realise this was such a problem.

 

Regards

 

Doom

[davyboy]

When my wife was ill as a child just before the NHS was set up the doctor called to see how she was.

Her mother opened the door and said to him "I didn't ask you to call and I can't afford the half a crown (12 1/2p) you charge for a call out.

He waived the charge as he was just passing.

Do you want to go back to that???

 

Why not penalise those that make an appointment and fail to turn up.

Last month our surgery had 77 doctor and 39 nurse appointments not turn up.

Work out at 10-15 minutes an appointment how much time was wasted.

Not only that it is VERY difficult to get an appointment on the day you need one.

[AMR67]

And those who are really sick and already on the breadline will then have to make a choice between, for example, food or the inhalers that they know they should take to prevent their asthma getting really bad this week.

 

I have 9 items per month on prescription, including everything from asthma inhalers to painkillers and drops to lubricate my eyes which no longer bother producing enough tears to keep my eyelids from grating on my eyeballs when I blink.

 

So I could spend £10 a month (as I do currently) on a prescription prepayment card, or I could spend £18 a month on the scheme you suggest, or £72 a month on standard prescription charges. Or, just to show how nominal and unrepresentative the prescription charge actually is, I could pay £311 a month for the actual cost of my medication.

At least you're putting into the system. If I had to have 9 items I would have to pay around £75 and why should I. I pay tax and national insurance every week when other people don't and they get it for free. Just because people work full time it doesn't mean they can afford prescription charges, many working families also live on the breadline and struggle to pay bills.

[medusa]

At least you're putting into the system. If I had to have 9 items I would have to pay around £75 and why should I. I pay tax and national insurance every week when other people don't and they get it for free. Just because people work full time it doesn't mean they can afford prescription charges, many working families also live on the breadline and struggle to pay bills.

 

No, you would need to pay for a prescription prepayment card, which works out at £11 a month and is available to everybody for the same rate.

 

I don't get free prescriptions either.

[Bruno]

Why should I pay Tax and NI and still have to pay to see a doctor. It's bad enough I have to pay £8 odd for prescriptions. I recently took a prescription to the chemist and out of the 8 people that came in after me no one else paid. That means 1 out of 9 paid which equates to 11% of people paying for medicines, no wonder the NHS is in a state. Rant over.

 

Not necessarily some may have This

[AMR67]

Not necessarily some may have This

Yeah I know but the point is I'm still paying!!

[Grenoside123]

So do I, blatantly made up and complete nonsense, in fact such big a nonsense it isn't even in the "article" you cited.

 

You do know that the NHS gives out 14 billion in medicine each year right? At which point 100 million sort of equates the acceptable error-rate.

 

But yeah, the Daily Fail says that "prescription cheats" are robbing us all blind. I am amazed there isn't any tenuous link to EU immigrants, that would make it even better.

 

Here's more info. Actually less than 10% of prescriptions are paid for.

 

http://www.hscic.gov.uk/catalogue/PUB11291