BUPA motions raise concern about private healthcare sector

Fri, 13 Apr 2007

BUPA, the major private health insurance company and private healthcare provider, is planning on selling off a number of its private hospitals . The news is concerning some industry experts, who say the golden age of NHS care provided by independent operators is coming to an end. The bright prospects of publicly funded private care are becoming gloomier.

BUPA, the British United Provident Association is to sell its last 26 private hospitals, following other sales in recent years. BUPA is the largest medical insurer in the UK, and as well as hospitals runs care homes.

The hospital business has faced a difficult year, and hospitals suffered from less NHS work. Alongside this, other business interests continued to climb. Medical insurance remains the most popular and profitable business for the firm.

However, experts believe that a sale will lead to greater concentration in the private market, which will damage the NHS.

What is good for BUPA may not, however, be so good for the NHS. If the company's hospitals go to a rival, that will lead to greater concentration in the private market. Already a consortium led by Netcare, a South African firm that was among the successful bidders for the NHS tender, has acquired BMI Healthcare, the biggest chain of independent hospitals. The government had hoped that a vigorous external market in hospital care would reinforce its internal market in the health service. That objective may be thwarted if the private sector becomes too concentrated.
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