Private health care in Britain.

Private medicine has been growing rapidly in Great Britian, a trend the author says indicates dissatisfaction with the National Health Service (NHS). Spivak notes that even when free medical treatment is available, citizens will pay for a private room, quicker treatment, and the chance to choose their own physicians and hospitals. Membership in private health plans has increased 15 fold since the inception of NHS 30 years ago. These plans are adding over 100,000 members a year so that the private sector now accounts for about $550 million, or 2-3% of Britian's annual outlay on medical care. The author attributes this trend to three factors: (1) private medicine is now generating enough capital to finance a substantial expansion of its own facilities; (2) deterioration in NHS; and (3) the low price of private health plans. Critics of private health care have described it as an alternative restricted to the affluent; the author counters that private plans are beginning to enroll blue-collar workers for the first time. He cites the opinions of experts who foresee the private sector covering for NHS shortcomings in non-emergency care until a full-fledged partnership develops. Spivak concludes by pointing to a conservative plan, now in its early stages, to promote a move in this direction. Whether or not this scheme comes to fruition, he adds, private medicine is beginning to flourish in a socialized system.