ABSTRACT
As the UK National Health Service (NHS) passes the sixtieth anniversary of its establishment, it is worth recalling Aneurin Bevan’s trenchant statement that ‘a free health service is a triumphant example of the superiority of collective action and public initiative applied to a segment of society where commercial principles are seen at their worst (Bevan 1952: 109). In many respects, that principle has been retained, though it is coming under increasing challenge. The recent debate at the British Medical Association’s annual meeting (July 2008) suggests there is now a wafer-thin line in the medical profession between those who favour top-up fees, or co-payments, for drugs not available on the NHS, and those who oppose it. However, public attitudes reveal little evidence of substantial public support for an extension of charging for health care; partisan accounts such as those of Pollard (2008) are characterized by double counting and exaggeration of the population covered by private health insurance and/or paying privately for some of their health care (for further discussion of this, see Mohan 2008).
