To ask if you would pay for GP visits

[justanotherhappyflunkie]

Been talking with various friends who all agree they would rather pay a nominal sum to see a GP rather than the current system.

I have lived in a country that does this (free for children, disabled people, discounts for beneficiaries and long term sickness) and it was great. Same day appointments, good range of doctors, quick referrals.

The UK equivalent of this would be around £20 per visit.

AIBU to suggest it is the system that could help the NHS? prepares for a flaming!

Feels like the solution is just to have those who can afford it go private.

The change in mindset would be huge and the admin of it all.

My concern is that if charges were introduced in the UK, primary care would go the same way as dental care.

That's exactly it. Currently if you are poor, you can't afford to maintain your teeth. We have gone backwards- full circle to the poor having rotten and missing teeth.
All healthcare will be the same and it won't be pretty.

I also think the idea of charging for non-attendance sounds effective on the surface but why do people not attend? Because their lives are chaotic, because they get admitted to hospital, because their transport doesn't show up, because they have caring responsibilities, because they're anxious etc. etc. Sometimes people are human and work over-runs or they have to pick a child up from school and they just forget. Again, I imagine charging would involve a lot of complex admin and people arguing their case. I also think penalising the already vulnerable will do nothing for doctor-patient relationships and instead just discourage those who need healthcare from engaging.

I wouldn’t mind but I don’t think majority would vote for it

Plus you’d have to check it doesn’t make people delay too much

I’m used to it though as we had it and sometimes it can make people value it more plus extra money coming in

Something needs to change. It's broken just now.

Yes I'd pay for a better service.

I would. The current system isn’t fit for purpose.

I’ve been on a waiting list for a small op for over four years! The area becomes infected, I get antibiotics, they cause secondary issues, need more medication, things settle down, it flares up, rinse and repeat. I’ve been to the GP twice this week and had two prescriptions for something that should have been resolved long ago.

They don’t! A small private pension would put a stop to this. Even some people on benefits don’t get free prescriptions. I believe that people in Wales & Scotland get free prescriptions, but not everyone in England.

We paid for GP appointments when we lived in New Zealand. Fine (most of the time) for us but the system leads to even greater health inequalities, something that is already an issue in the UK. I think it would be a disaster

www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/104094154/how-many-nz-adults-cant-afford-to-visit-a-gp

My dad doesn't pay for any prescriptions and he's very comfortably off. I'm not sure what the age is, he's over 70, but there is definitely an age related, non means tested exemption.

I'm pleased your friends are all able to afford this.

What about the parents, not earning low enough to get benefits, but struggling to pay all the increased costs, and nursery for their 2 kids?

I don't mind paying as such, but I can easily afford it. To some people £20 is a huge amount of money, not to mention £40 or £60 if repeat visits are needed.

I don't support it as a system because of that, but also because I think what it leads to is people avoiding GP appointments until the problem is worse (weighing up whether it's "worth" £20) and then it becomes harder and more expensive to treat. You hear of the phenomenon in the US of people not actually even having a PCP and only using urgent care services. This is not ideal for many reasons. A GP should be accessible.

Totally against it. Free initial healthcare access is important to maintain general health of population.

Yes, you are entitled to free prescriptions if you are 60 or over, 16 and under, or 18 and under in full time education.

I pay €65 per GP visit and pay for dental visits (approx same amount for a check up) and much more for treatment eg orthodontics 5K+/root canal 2K+

Only one illness is allowed to be discussed an an appointment. If I had eg a sore throat and an ingrown toenail, I would need two appointments is €130 although some offer a reduce fee of 50% to cover the second illness.
If I need to return with the same issue, the fee is reduced to €40 for the second visit.

It is still very hard to make an appointment and even to register with a GP. Many of them will not take new patients.

Also pay private health insurance which begins at approx 500 per annum for a basic plan and increases with the benefits required to much more. This gives you access to faster access to treatments delivered privately as otherwise you can wait years on a public waiting list. Many employers pay for private health insurance as part of their benefits package. Obviously public sector workers don’t get this benefit and must pay privately. Ironic really that nursing staff in public hospitals pay to go to private hospitals.

I live somewhere with this system and it seems to work quite well. Secondary care is provided free. I can always see a GP same day, if not my own GP.

I’ve thought about going private, but there are so many issues with this. Actually after the virus I did have the option to go private for my op, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I wouldn’t have been seen any sooner either. Plus just because you’re paying to see the Dr, it doesn’t mean that they will treat you any better. If I was paying I wouldn’t want to see many of the Dr’s that I used to see when we were able.

Yep - in the EU country where I live, a GP appointment costs around €30, €15 of which is reimbursed as standard by the health service system. And another €8-€10 is reimbursed through complementary insurance offered by my employer. I can always get a GO appointment same day or next day depending how n when I book. And I can book online. The system works wonderfully.

I agree.
Anyone wondering how charging for GPs would pan out only has to look at dental services.
I see people with obvious rotting teeth and hear of people pulling their own teeth out.
And A and E would just become a nightmare. Because lots of people would just go there instead.
Life is getting harder and harder for a lot of people as prices continue to soar. What the rich see as only a nominal charge of £20 is a significant amount to plenty of people.

A friend in the US had an abortion because she simply wouldn't have been able to afford maternity care.

If part of the deal was paying less in tax.

I'm firmly in the squeezed middle. I earn enough to be in the 40% bracket and not get a penny in terms of child benefit or government support, but live in London and have a toddler in childcare that costs me £1600 per month for 4 days pw. I can't bloody afford more outgoings.

I object to this as it punishes people who are unwell.(Also isnt our Nat Ins contribution meant to cover this) Some poorer people may put off going to the GP if they are worried about the cost. Soon enough it will be that Xrays,hospital checks and so on would go the same way.Its bad enough that lots of people cannot afford Dental care ATM

@amyboo I can get a GP appointment the same day in England. The issue is a shortage of GPs in many areas of the country. All this does is ration GP services to those who can afford to pay.

@Hankunamatata Is the current problem not that free initial healthcare is not being provided? And this would be free at point of delivery for children, old people and unemployed people.

I already pay for GP appointments.

Via taxes.

This country needs an honest government who can have an honest conversation about what they’ve done to the NHS (under funded it and not invested for our changing demographic).

We have an older population so the healthcare system needs adapting to reflect that.

introducing charges etc etc just is a smokescreen and doesn’t cut to the heart of the issue that our NHS works when funded well, but has fallen over because it has not been.

And a surprisingly high number of GP appointments are for mental health issues. You know all those adverts about seeking help if you feel suicidal? How many people will be discouraged from seeking help because of the cost?