22 March 2002
Speaking to the Social Market Foundation on 20 March, Brown reiterated his commitment to a publicly funded NHS and rejected calls for alternative revenue streams, such as those used in the US or continental Europe.
The chancellor said he had examined four options to fund the NHS: user charges; private insurance; general state insurance; and taxation. He dismissed the first three as unworkable because they could not accommodate changes in demographics, technology and expectancy relating to health care in the UK.
'Far from being a hangover from a distant age or unrealisable vision, the NHS system of funding is demonstrably the modern rational choice,' he said.
'If we can match reform and results to resources, our budget and spending round offer a historic opportunity to put NHS funding on a sustainable footing.'
PFmar2002
