Planet Insurance

Mike Richards' eagerly awaited report for the Department of Health on NHS top-ups has apparently ended the system of charging for NHS care where patients opt to pay privately for drugs not available on the NHS. The change of policy has been welcomed by the insurance industry and it seems that a difficult issue has been resolved. In fact, this is far from the case, as can be seen from the draft guidance on how the policy should be implemented in practice. The guidance states that where a patient opts to pay for private care, their entitlement to NHS services remains but then adds that it...