This year's budget was an auspicious occasion.
It was the day when Gordon Brown launched his bid to succeed Tony Blair as Labour Party leader. He promising a massive public sector cash injection into the currently lamentable National Health Service (NHS). The new spending plan will see NHS funding rise to 10% GDP from 7%. Whatever the reassurances of the private medical health suppliers, the move threatens their market.
OK, expatriates will always require cover while working in the East. But will people require private cover living in a country that spends as much on healthcare as France?
Of course, the government plan is an opportunity as well as a threat. The spending increase is gradual and will not affect waiting list numbers for a few years yet. If it fails, then the private sector must surely boom past its stagnant 12% share of the domestic market. If there is success, then PMI providers will have o come up with new products.
One idea being explored is limited cover - excluding some major areas lke coronary brings premiums down to more affordable levels. The danger is that brokers will need to work harder for their commissions. Most products on the market are the same. Know one and you know them all - pretty much. Introduce a variety and the broker has to be much more careful, especially with the FSA breathing down his or her neck.
Andy Cook
Editor
