<![CDATA[Here's a great letter from Susan Jones (a retired insurance underwriter) on why the NHS will *always* cost the UK less than a private health insurance system;]]>Here's a great letter from Susan Jones (a retired insurance underwriter) on why the NHS will *always* cost the UK less than a private health insurance system;

which emphasises that those arguing for such a shift are either misinformed, or (more likely) just do the bidding of their corporate sponsors with little actual interest in the UK's fiscal politics.

Further reasons to ignore the clamouring for a US-like health system, should you really need them!


h/t Guardian

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/topic/0919d100-d04f-43bb-a8e6-32ccb30086da/here-s-a-great-letter-from-susan-jones-a-retired-insurance-underwriter-on-why-the-nhs-will-always-cost-the-uk-less-than-a-private-health-insurance-systemRSS for NodeSun, 11 Oct 2026 08:44:48 GMTSat, 10 Oct 2026 09:17:36 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to Here's a great letter from Susan Jones (a retired insurance underwriter) on why the NHS will *always* cost the UK less than a private health insurance system; on Sat, 10 Oct 2026 09:46:19 GMT]]>@ChrisMayLA6 Well, we could always offset the private return with (as in the USA) the number of bankruptcies & ill-health (physical & mental) arising from the costs to the users of private medical insurance; which are, I think, less likely under the NHS system.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.scot/users/RussCheshire/statuses/117415973979163044https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.scot/users/RussCheshire/statuses/117415973979163044Sat, 10 Oct 2026 09:46:19 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Here's a great letter from Susan Jones (a retired insurance underwriter) on why the NHS will *always* cost the UK less than a private health insurance system; on Sat, 10 Oct 2026 09:35:58 GMT]]>@ChrisMayLA6 One of the NHS's problems is that the post-1988 imposition of internal market mechanisms required rigorous cost itemisation. This created administrative overheads mimicking inurance systems.

An IT pal was one of the first doing this in 1989. He wasn't politically minded, so was shocked to find huge hostility from clinical staff. For some reason they were outraged 😡 that this youngster was paid way more than them to spend lottsa money on IT which made their jobs slower & harder. 🙄

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.ie/users/2legged/statuses/117415933308344707https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.ie/users/2legged/statuses/117415933308344707Sat, 10 Oct 2026 09:35:58 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Here's a great letter from Susan Jones (a retired insurance underwriter) on why the NHS will *always* cost the UK less than a private health insurance system; on Sat, 10 Oct 2026 09:35:49 GMT]]>@ChrisMayLA6 Susan Jones is quite right: the NHS will always cost less than private health care, for the reasons she states.

I would however suggest that her comment "there would be no investment return" overlooks a major non-financial return: the health of the nation, with all the benefits arising.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.scot/users/RussCheshire/statuses/117415932695598541https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.scot/users/RussCheshire/statuses/117415932695598541Sat, 10 Oct 2026 09:35:49 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Here's a great letter from Susan Jones (a retired insurance underwriter) on why the NHS will *always* cost the UK less than a private health insurance system; on Sat, 10 Oct 2026 09:29:17 GMT]]>@ChrisMayLA6 That is also why around 1980 the government took one look at the option of 'social insurance' and dropped it like a very hot potato indeed.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/djr2024/statuses/117415907009510159https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/djr2024/statuses/117415907009510159Sat, 10 Oct 2026 09:29:17 GMT