Could the health and social care bill lead to a rise in PMI demand?

There's been a lot of news on the health and social care bill lately, I'm finding it hard to keep track of it all - but the reports that it could increase the demand for private medical insurance certainly caught my attention.

According to David Worksett, director of the independent sector network of the NHS Confederation, the bill could give rise to more PMI sign ups because of new ways to access medical care and an increased knowledge of some of the problems of the NHS.

If passed in parliament this bill could do the following things:

• Give some GPs the power to manage a budget based on the needs of their patients
  
• Make the NHS accountable to the public with the introduction of Healthwatch, a new complaints and investigation body
• Make all English hospitals semi-independant and able to make money by accepting some private patients

The third point is probably the most likely reason that people may turn to PMI, as the addition of NHS facilities could offer more flexibility and options on the number of treatments and hospitals available.

Of course, this just highlights why the bill is so controversial - surely a benefit of PMI is that it helps reduce the pressure on overcrowded NHS hospitals? What do you think?

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