British Government Revises Health Care Overhaul Plan
The initial blueprint by Prime Minister David Cameron drew criticism from providers and members of his own coalition government, who argued it equaled "partial privatization of the system."
The New York Times: Cameron Revises Overhaul Plan For British Health Care
After enduring months of criticism over his bold proposal to drastically overhaul Britain's publicly financed National Health Service, Prime Minister David Cameron on Tuesday released a new, watered-down version of the plan designed to be more palatable to interest groups and to Parliament (Cameron, 6/14).
The Wall Street Journal: UK Leader Rolls Back Plans For Health-Care Overhaul
Mr. Cameron's changes tone down the previous emphasis on boosting competition from private-sector health-care providers. They also relax a previous 2013 deadline for general practitioners to take control of annual budgets, and allow a wider group of health-care professionals, including nurses, a say in these budgets (MacDonald and Whalen, 6/15).
Reuters: UK Govt Retreats On Health Reforms After Outcry
"I think in politics you have to be big enough to admit when you don't get it right and that's exactly what I've done," Prime Minister David Cameron said on Tuesday ... The Conservative-led government took the unusual step of halting the reform legislation, which had already begun to make its way through parliament. ... The reform plan had spread concern that the Conservatives sought a back door for privatising a health system with an annual budget exceeding 100 billion pounds ($164 billion). Only one in five Britons believe the NHS is "safe in Cameron's hands", according to a poll (Weir, 6/14).
