ABSTRACT
This chapter considers what specialists' professional fees are supposed to cover. Consideration of the specialist's qualifications is no longer an objective matter. There has been a heated debate recently among the medical establishment as to the relative value and significance of certain qualifications, most notably the EC Certificate of Specialist Training. William Laing concluded his report by saying that specialist private practice fees 'are probably considerably higher than necessary to ensure an adequate supply of top level specialists skills for the insured population'. In mid-1993 the stock of economic commentary on the subject was further enhanced by the publication of a report, again sponsored by Norwich Union Healthcare, by the National Economic Research Associates (NERA). The Monopolies and Mergers Commission (MMC) began its investigation into private medical services in September 1992, announcing shortly after that it was to concentrate its attention on specialist services only.
