This Is Giving Nationalized Health-Carers Apoplexy

Britain’s highly-troubled National Health Care system is turning to the private sector for help.

As reported by the National Underwriter, a U.S. insurance publication,

A U.K agency has included U.S. health insurers in the pool of companies that can help administer National Health Service coverage.

England’s new “Framework for Procuring External Support for Commissioners,” a kind of buying club for government-owned regional health plans, has chosen European units of at least 3 U.S. health insurers to join the initial pool of suppliers.

The units are subsidiaries of Aetna Inc., Hartford; Humana Inc., Louisville, Ky.; and UnitedHealth Group Inc., Minnetonka, Minn.

The United Kingdom is trying to improve the National Health Service, the agency that provides health coverage in England, by creating a system of regional “primary care trusts.”

The PCTs will be buying developing health plans to meet the needs of local residents and buying health care from the care providers.

Aetna, Humana and UnitedHealth will join with 11 other U.S. and European companies in marketing their services to the PCTs through the “framework,” or “FESC,” the companies say.

The companies could help the PCTs with tasks such as buying provider services and running disease management programs.

The press release from Britain’s Department of Health says:

As well as providing a panel of expert suppliers, the framework is expected to help PCTs obtain the best value for money by minimising resource and cost implications associated with conducting procurement activities, which some PCTs face when trying to obtain external support.

APPROVED FIRMS
Aetna Health Services (UK) Ltd
AXA PPP Healthcare Administration Services Ltd
BUPA Membership Commissioning Ltd
Partners In Commissioning
Dr Foster Intelligence
Health Dialog Services Corporation
Humana Europe Ltd
KPMG LLP
McKesson Information Solutions UK Ltd
McKinsey & Co, IncUK
Navigant Consulting, Inc
Tribal Consulting Ltd
UnitedHealth Europe Ltd
WG Consulting

In addition, the NHS is trying to recruit more independent health care providers to England:

As part of the ongoing programme of creating a diverse network of providers in the NHS, the Department today placed an advert in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) inviting independent sector providers to join a network of providers to run alongside the existing Extended Choice Network.

The predictable reaction by those in Britain with a stake in the present mess, as quoted by the BBC:

However, Geoff Martin, head of campaigns at Health Emergency, said ministers wanted to see the "wholesale privatisation" of primary care….

"The idea that the heavyweight American healthcare providers, with their disastrous track record in exploiting health inequality, can teach the NHS any lessons defies belief."

Mike Jackson, senior national officer for the union Unison, said: "Unison does not believe that the private sector has the necessary skills and expertise to commission healthcare for such a wide range of people, especially vulnerable groups."

But, a recent study placed Britain’s health care worst in northern Europe. Its primary researcher said:

"Patients in the UK have the right to expect more. Despite substantial funding increases, the UK still is a mediocre overall performer," said Anje Björnberg, director of Health Consumer Powerhouse….

The analysis criticised Britain for long waiting times, the regional variations in supply of healthcare, the low rates of five-year cancer survival, and the scale of MRSA infection in NHS hospitals.

Sounds like a job for private enterprise to fix, not government bureaucrats proctologizing citizens.