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Tory support for PMI tax relief

24 August 2009 Breaking News

Income tax relief for private medical insurance (PMI) and tax relief for private healthcare fees has strong support among Conservative MPs, suggests a new poll.

The poll of 150 MPs, conducted by COMRES on behalf of BMI Healthcare, indicates a significant contrast between the attitudes of MPs from different parties. While 66% of Conservative MPs surveyed supported the first proposal, just five per cent of Liberal Democrats agreed and one per cent of Labour MPs. Over half (55%) of Tories supported the second proposal, compared to just one per cent of Labour MPs.

The poll also suggests that a generation gap exists in terms of MPs' attitudes towards the NHS. While 72% of MPs born before 1950 believe that the current NHS model of care is sustainable for the next 60 years, just 42% of MPs born after 1960 agree. There is also a regional split of views on this issue - 82% of MPs from the north believed the NHS is sustainable against 52% in the south.

Three quarters (77%) of Conservatives, 47% of Labour and 55% of Liberal Democrat MPs agree that if it reduces waiting times, the NHS should fund patients' treatment through private providers. When asked whether private providers should be invited to run NHS hospitals where such hospitals fail to meet minimum standards of care, 84% of Conservatives and 30% of Liberal Democrats agreed, compared with only 17% of Labour MPs.

On the issue of top-up payments, 67% of Conservatives agreed that patients should receive treatment partly paid for by the NHS and partly funded privately to increase their chance of receiving timely healthcare, compared to 36% of Liberal Democrats and 14% of Labour MPs.

Adrian Fawcett, chief executive of General Healthcare Group (which owns BMI Healthcare), said: "The results help progress what, in the run-up to an election, is an important debate about the future of health provision in the UK. I do not believe there are many in the private healthcare sector that would support a switch to the US model. The UK already has a growing partnership between the public and the private healthcare sectors and we are pleased that so many MPs take a pragmatic view about how such a partnership can be further developed and how it can be used to meet the health needs of an increasingly ageing population.

"The NHS delivers strong core health services but the patient experience, the clinical outcomes and the timeliness of treatment can undoubtedly be further improved, if the private sector is encouraged to work more closely with the NHS to deliver reduced waiting times and improved value for money.

"In my view, the private sector is not advocating a root and branch reconstruction of health provision in this country, rather measures to widen patient choice and improve patient services and outcomes as part of a closer public-private partnership."

ComRes surveyed 44 Conservative MPs, 82 Labour MPs and 20 Liberal Democrats.

General Healthcare Group is the largest private hospital provider in the UK.  

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