To be terrified by Farage/Reform's plans to replace the NHS with "an insurance based model"?

[Gillemeow]

It seems to have been largely overlooked by the mainstream media but Nigel Farage on the debate last night was clear that he thought the NHS should be replaced by an insurance model.

Given that most of the country are already crippled by the current cost of living crisis, how does he expect people to pay this extra cost? If employers have spare cash to do it (as in France or the USA where many get insurance via their employer), why aren't they giving decent wage rises?

His plans would penalise people with existing health conditions. And which sex would end up paying more.for insurance? The one that gives birth and goes through menopause or the one that doesn't?

In France contraception is only free if you're under 26. What if you're not? Will the right wing's phrase of choice on children change from "don't have children of you can't afford them" to "don't have sex if you can't afford it"?

Imagine if it was for an essential operation or childbirth. You have to weigh up the cost of an epidural against taking a decent length of maternity leave

that isn't how the European schemes work

In France contraception is only free if you're under 26. What if you're not? Will the right wing's phrase of choice on children change from "don't have children of you can't afford them" to "don't have sex if you can't afford it

Not much having free contraception if pharmacists are allowed to refuse to dispense it. Better sorting that out in my view.

Is he supporting insurnace model like the USA or the one in Germany? Or private occupational healthcare for employees like in Finland?

Some people can't wait to get their hands on it. Lots of profit for them, and far less for us, and at a huge cost-if you have it.

If there is no money in it now, it can hardly support a profit. Obviously they'll do it by dropping the service level and making sure that doctors are scarce as gold dust.

How can you claim to be patriotic but want a health system that is self defeating and fundamentally incapable of meeting our needs?

Free healthcare has got us nowhere. Our population are fat, unhealthy and entitled. They don’t give a shit about their health because the NHS will patch them up.

I think we need a bit of Darwinism at this point. I’m all for free healthcare until age 18, but thereafter we need to return to individual responsibility because frankly people who are black holes of ‘need’ are sinking the NHS faster than the tories

They'll go for the US model, and half the country won't be able to afford it eventually

It been on cards since before covid why are you surprised they been talking about dissolving NHS for years open your eyes and ears although probably to late now to sit up and take note damage has been done under your nose slowly but surely for a number of years now

Great to see quite a few people on here are happy to pay more for healthcare. Here's a thought, why not tax those who can afford it a bit more and properly fund the NHS for the benefit of everyone?

I suspect some kind of insurance based model will be incoming whoever wins the election.

However Reform are not going to win the election
They'll be lucky to have one MP elected

What an awful post. People don’t choose to cost the NHS by being a black hole of need.

Because they’re already taxed a lot and ‘the benefit of everyone else’ hasn’t worked so far has it? Walk down the street and everyone is overweight and vaping.

Insurance models weren’t what the two biggest parties in that debate seemed to be mooting at all.

Insurance models.

What about the with chronic conditions? Insurance either becomes unaffordable or is outright refused. I have friends in the US who struggle constantly with this. Who have good insurance, but when they reach the limit suddenly have to find money for it. Insurance doesn't like covering pre existing conditions. Or mental health.

Do we end up with thousands of people not receiving the healthcare they need.

Exactly anybody over 50 or with any diagnosis would struggle to get insurance. It’s a ridiculous idea particularly for those who have paid into the NHS all their lives .

I agree but I think it may be coming to us in due course.

I fully support NHS not being free at the point of contact. There should be an affordable fee with a limit so those with chronic conditions won't be dispoportianally affected. And I wouldn't mind it being tied to income. Same with medication charges. There is suprising amount of pwople who can afford it and still get it free. Same with childcare fees. However, making this work would require similar amount of institutional change as insurance system. Also the insurnace system is not terrible if it is the similar as the ones in European countries. Wether all this is worth changing is something i can't evaluate

Well he can promise all he likes- thankfully Reform have absolutely no chance of being in any position to form a government. This loathsome toad however however has done so much damage to this country through his influence, hatred and racist soundbites for over a decade that we ended up with Brexit so should not be underestimated.

In the debate he couldn't really be clear about this because someone on the panel was heckling him.
What I did hear I agreed with in so much as we need a different model, more money won't help.
It needs to to be run as a business even if it's still our NHS.

In an NHS hospital you grab pens for instance and don't ruin twice about stationary.
Not so in private hospital. Everything is accounted for.
I've personally been at the end of time and money wasting antics and a small aside.... Serving branded weetabix??

You can't seriously think that Reform are going to win the election OP? He may well have been the most popular in last night's debate, but the vast majority didn't watch the debate. Nowadays these debates attract a certain viewership, who are possibly more likely to vote Reform than the average person. Last night's viewers certainly are, given it wasn't even the Leaders, and Farage was the main draw. They've got very low viewing numbers overall, only 3.2million people watched it. In past elections viewing numbers have been much higher, but they've been gradually reducing, to nothing of significance now. You may as well have asked GB News viewers who performed best, it's obviously a very skewed sample.

You don’t need to worry unless you know something we all don’t about Reform winning the election?
At least he wasn’t afraid to start the conversation. The current NHS model is broken, but we’re all supposed to still be clapping and banging our pans in support of the system, treating it like an elderly relative that needs love and support. Isn’t it better to be having honest conversations about how to change it for the better, so everyone benefits, both the patients and its employees.

But with a private system there is waste- ridiculous prices for things and interventions often not needed. You pay for that waste in your insurance payments which are huge.

I don't agree with an insurance as a whole model. But something has to change. The NHS is unsustainable. Its not about under funding. Its about poor management and misuse.

It was free at the point of care. Not free for every single thing. I do think we need to start a means tested model or similar. Parts of it needs to be paid for. You cannot continue to expect everything for free!

Sadly no one seems to be able to make tough decisions about it. Party because 95 percent of the country and in thia brain washed thinking of our precious amazing NHS it must be saved blah etc. Something needs to change. It needs a shake up.

He didn’t seem that popular. He seemed the least popular going by the heckling and responses to references towards him.

I've always thought this is what the Tories are doing anyway, gradually refunding the NHS so that it gets so bad we will start going private ourselves because it will feel like a better option than what we have, this allowing them to start slipping in an insurance based model by stealth by making what we currently have so rubbish anything will seem better.

I think the people who bothered to watch it on TV are likely to be his fans @Neap0l1tan , but I'm not surprised he was heckled by the audience.