REFORM UK Leader Nigel Farage has been blasted by the Health Secretary for making a “bombshell new admission” on his plan to scrap the NHS as we know it and introduce an insurance-based system of healthcare.
Speaking to Sky News’ Beth Rigby, Farage admitted he wanted healthcare funding to be “spent through insurance companies”, which would see the current taxpayer-funded model of NHS care scrapped. The comments confirm that Reform UK is planning to replace the NHS with an insurance system.
Farage has previously maintained that the UK is “going to have to move to an insurance-based system of health care”, which could see people across the country having to pay thousands of pounds for routine healthcare – and even higher sums for more serious conditions.
If Reform brought in an insurance-based system, healthcare services in comparable countries show that patients could be left paying over £120 for a GP appointment, with an A&E visit potentially setting people back by upwards of £1,300.
Reform MPs also opposed Labour’s extra £26 billion investment in the NHS in Parliament, and instead promised to introduce tax cuts for private healthcare and insurance, which would only benefit the wealthiest.
This latest dangerous admission from Farage comes as new data for the NHS in England shows waiting lists have been cut by 400,000 since Labour took office, ambulances are arriving five minutes faster to heart attack and stroke patients, A&E waiting times are falling, and a record proportion of patients were diagnosed or given the all-clear for cancer.
This positive progress has only been made possible by the relentless action the Labour Government has taken since taking office 18 months ago to fix our NHS after 14 years of Conservative neglect.
With Labour governments in Cardiff and Westminster, Wales has seen the longest sustained fall in waiting lists on record. Plaid Cymru have admitted that progress on waiting lists would stall in their first months in office.
While 22 million patients in England use the NHS App to manage their appointments every month, in nationalist-run Scotland, unless you live in Lanarkshire and have a skin condition, you don’t have an NHS App.
Wes Streeting MP, Labour’s Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, said:
“The cat’s out the bag – this proves why Nigel Farage must never be allowed to get his hands on our NHS. His plan to line the pockets of health insurance companies would see our NHS dismantled from top to bottom – and only the wealthiest getting the care they need.
“Reform would see working people paying a heavy price. They are not on the side of patients.
“With Labour in Government, patients will be treated based on need, not how much you have in your pocket. And it will always be free at the point of use and there for you when you need it. No ifs, no buts.
“The NHS is on the road to recovery with Labour. Don’t risk it with Reform”
Earlier this week, Streeting launched a staunch defence of the NHS remaining free at the point of use as a new report from the Institute for Public Policy Research revealed that moving to an insurance-based healthcare system would be more expensive and disruptive, just as Labour’s action is getting the NHS back on its feet. The report also found that insurance systems spend on average £7 billion more on administration and are far more unequal for patients than the NHS. Referring to Farage, Streeting warned that patients “cannot trust this con artist with the NHS”.
Farage’s plan would mark a fundamental break from the founding principles of the NHS: a healthcare system that is free at the point of use, where care is based on need, and not the ability to pay.
Under the Conservatives NHS waiting lists reached record highs. But thanks to the fair choices made by the Labour Government – opposed by both Reform and the Tories – patients are already seeing positive results.
Labour promised an extra two million appointments, and has instead delivered 5.2 million more appointments across the first year in government. The government has also hired 2,000 more GPs, recruited almost 8,000 extra mental health workers, and is investing in new Neighbourhood Health Centres, offering a full range of services open 12 hours a day, six days a week. A transformed NHS app will also act as the digital front door to the NHS to allow patients to book appointments, manage medicines and view your medical records.
