VAT on private health

[Simonandrod]

Am I right in thinking there isn't VAT on private health care? Is it completely unfeasible that it could be put on and money raised go to NHS? Or is it too complicated as so many people who use it have health insurance? Just interested

It's easy to make arguements like "why should life only be available to those that can afford to pay for it" until your child has cancer and the only way to save them is to pay, then watch all those arguments go out the window you'll do anything to save your child.
Extreme example but it happens.
As for education I went to a regular school just like the other 93% of the population and I thought it was pretty fine and dandy. My kids go to a regular school too and haven't had any problems.
It cannot be compared to healthcare it just can't 🤷🏻‍♀️

But that's like the people who have put their children into private school because they're being bulled to the point that they are suicidal/struggling with unmet SEN, and parents feel they have no choice but to move them out of the state system.

In reality, I think inequality in health and literal life and death is more unfair and unreasonable than inequality in education tbh. It is more important that everyone has access to the highest quality of health care regardless of means than the highest quality of education.

Education is also freely available by using libraries and the Internet - much more so than when I was at school when you were out of luck.if the library didn't have it. It's possible to give yourself quite a good education in some things at least free of charge, if you have the literacy, the time and are motivated.

The same definitely cannot be said of healthcare. DIY is definitely not generally possible or desirable there!

Actually a lot of healthcare is preventative and your background plays a large part in how long you're likely to live/ how reliant on healthcare you'll be. The people who are likely to need the most significant input from healthcare, are unlikely to be those who can afford private.
Education is similar. Yes all those things are available and lovely. But it's very unlikely those who most need them will access them. That's putting aside things like psychological blocks which are often caused by being raised in environments with low aspirations/unmet SEN needs.
Either way, the poor almost always pay the biggest price.

There is. In my village we have 1 bus every 2 hours, starts at 8am, last one about 6pm. So works perfectly for shift workers!!!!

Some people would support the 'rich' paying VAT on Healthcare but would not support paying £15 for an outpatient appointment that costs £160 conservatively? The same 'rich' that already pay sometimes over 60% of their income.

What I have learnt is these sorts of people simply want to spend other people's money. The concept of fairness is broken. The government needs to provide infrastructure and an environment to enable everyone to be able to do fruitful, productive work and benefit from that work. Then the populace can focus on maximising the opportunities they create. That is what we should be pushing for.

Not 'how can we keep doing what we are doing and make sure those guys over there pay for what we want' - whether private health, school, fancy cars or whatever

So let's create opportunities for there to be less of the poor. Let's hold our governments accountable for that

Starmer may get it after all - he just tweeted this...

The UK doesn't have a problem with wealth creation. If it did you wouldn't have it stuffed to the gills with investors.

The perennial problem is in wealth distribution.

Why is this so hard for people to understand!!! No-one is ‘queue jumping’ either! Why does the same old rubbish get trotted out on here? It’s so tedious.

That argument is shot down for school fees!
They would say - if you can afford £350 a month, you can afford £420.
Why should you get better access to care than the vast majority?
You're not helping the NHS by alleviating pressure, but causing more problems by facilities/staff being directed to deliver private care, like teachers working in private schools who could be filing state school vacancies.......

Or, if that argument doesn't work:
If you can't afford the VAT rise, you couldn't really afford it in the first place. You should have planned better.

Well technically- if you pay, you get to join a very short queue. So for those who think that is not fair - it is queue jumping to an extent. Similar to paying for a Fast pass at Disney - except it is your health.

Sadly it does. Look at numbers of start-ups compared to the US proportionate to the population, number of thriving industries, GDP growth over 20-25 years....any metric you like

You’re right - I can’t really afford it but our NHS has become non-existent to the point that it has become a ‘choice’ of watch my DD suffer in pain on endless waiting lists or pay out every month for private health insurance. Feel better now?

I'm not the one making these arguments! I think taxing ill people is nuts, frankly. I'm very sorry for your situation. I hope your DD gets the medical help she needs.

But I’m not in the NHS queue…I wouldn’t have been referred to the NHS.

So your treatment is for something the NHS does not offer?

Most private care is for cataract surgery, orthopaedic procedures and scans. Things that are usually delivered by the NHS but now have long wait lists. Accessing private care means you access the same care (with nice teas and biscuits) faster and sometimes from the same consultant you would have seen on the NHS but working in their non-NHS time

Oh I quite agree the UK is a piss poor place for SME entrepreneurs. Which may explain why it attracts the bigger investors.

Don't try and even dare to image to dream to think to tell me that the UK is poor. It must certain is not. There are certain areas of London that are more wealthy than some small countries.

I repeat we do not have a lack of wealth. We have an inequality of wealth.

I worked in the NHS for almost 40 years…I also know how private health care works.

Exactly, all you really get is more admin as there are more organisations involved.

The UK spends less per head of population than European counter parts and we charge the highest tuition fees too.

Bottom line is we want Euro healthcare but are not prepared to pay for it, same as for our roads.

Similar to paying for a Fast pass at Disney - except it is your health.

It is like waiting for a ride at Disney and complaining that someone joining a short queue at Alton Towers is jumping your Disney queue.

I don't think we're talking about quite the same thing @Foxesandsquirrels. I was musing on the fact that you wouldn't want to drive people away from professionally provided, safe, evidence-backed healthcare by making them pay at the point of use and/or rationing it hugely by waiting lists and/or taxing private healthcare to an undue extent.

Because when people neglect their health or try DIY or cheap/unlicensed/unregulated solutions, there can be terrible consequences.

Education is of course also a public good but good quality education (or at least, information) can be accessed for free.

That's a separate issue to whether people have the cultural capital/time/motivation to access it.

I think it's more important not to restrict access to healthcare, because of the adverse consequences.

Of course people who can may will leave.

We ve made travel and trade harder with 27 other countries, then add in our economic woes and people will leave.