Is health insurance set to become mandatory?
As we covered in our earlier article today it seems as though there is a move towards allowing patients to 'top up' their NHS treatment to pay for drugs which may not be readily available on the NHS. But is this a good move or the first step towards mandatory health insurance for everyone in the UK?
There has long been a feeling that health insurance will at some stage become mandatory for each and every person in the UK, much the same as car insurance is for those who drive on the roads. There are also similarities with the pensions industry and the encouragement which the government gives the public to seek further income for their later years, with their own personal pensions. While a personal or employer pension may not be mandatory it may as well be with the state pension having fallen in real terms for some time!
While it would take a brave government to move down this route with regards to health insurance it looks as though slowly but surely we are moving along that path. Of course they will tell the UK population it is for their own good, they will say it is well worth the premiums but really it will be used as a sledge hammer to take some of the pressure off the over stretched and underfunded NHS.
Share this..
Related stories
UK house prices hit highest ever level
20/04/2015 Research from property website Rightmove has shown that house prices for homes in England have hit an all time high. This is due to a fall in the number of properties in the market and a surge in the number of people looking to buy a home. House prices have hit an all time high of £286,000, rising by 1.6%, suggesting that house price growth in the UK is picking up again after s...
Read MoreSterling continues to fall as traders target the UK
Sterling continues to fall on the foreign exchanges as traders target the UK currency which is currently friendless. What was initially a situation of concern has now turned into a disaster for the UK government as the currency continues to be pounded by speculators and investors alike. So what next for the embattled UK currency?
As we have covered on a number of occasions the short...
Bank of England recommends keeping interest rates low
17/10/2014 Interest rates could remain at the benchmark low of 0.5% for longer than previously expected, following a speech from the Bank of England’s chief economist. In his speech, Andrew Haldane claimed that the UK economy is “writhing in both agony and ecstasy”. He said that this is because of a mix of both positive and negative factors are currently affecting the state of the UK e...
Read MoreIs the Royal Mail being primed for a sell-off?
News that first-class stamps in UK will rise by 3p to 39p from April 2009, which is roughly twice the rate of inflation, is seen by many as further evidence that the Royal Mail will soon be sold off by the government. This latest rise comes on the back of potentially tens of thousands of job cuts, a partial sell-off to Dutch group TNT and concern about the state of the company's pension fund. Ther...
Read MoreWill Alistair Darling get his way with next week's budget?
Today's announcement that the UK public sector funding deficit was £5 billion less than expected in February, but still heading for a record for the current tax year, has given Alistair Darling a welcome boost ahead of next week's budget. It is known that friction between Number 10 and Number 11 Downing Street continues to this day with Gordon Brown adamant he will continue his spend, spend, spen...
Read More