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Hunt: Tax will need to rise to fund health and care
Jeremy Hunt believes spending on the NHS will have to rise and that the increase should be funded through higher taxation.
Mr Hunt was speaking at an event less than 48 hours before the prime minister asked him to replace Kwasi Kwarteng as chancellor.
In a discussion last Wednesday evening with HSJ editor Alastair McLellan and the audience at an event held as part of the Shoreham Literary Festival event, Mr Hunt also rejected the introduction of a social insurance model to fund the NHS and re-iterated the pressing need for the NHS to have a long-term workforce plan.
Asked by HSJ if the voices in the Conservative Party calling for a change from the NHS to a social insurance model had gained ascendancy, Mr Hunt said: “The game is not up for the NHS – absolutely not.
“We are all going to spend more on our health and care – if you’re in America you’re going to spend more through your insurance premiums – which are going to go up. If you’re in Holland and Germany you’re going to spend more through social insurance premiums. If you’re in Britain, Ireland or New Zealand you’re going to spend more through your taxes.”
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Source: HSJ, 17 October 2022