Should GPs make a profit?

The Budget has started a fight between the government and GPs. As is often the case with doctors, that fight is about money, but there is also something even more valuable at stake: the proper public understanding of general practice and the NHS.

When I ran a thinktank, I kept a list of things I wished the public understood about government and public policy. Top of the list was: ‘No, your state pension isn’t funded by your own National Insurance payments – it’s funded from the taxes of today’s workers.’

Health got lots of entries on the list too:

• ‘The NHS’ isn’t one big organisation; it’s lots of small and medium ones. 
• The British Medical Association isn’t a medical authority seeking better care for patients – it’s a trade union seeking more money for doctors. 
• GPs aren’t part of the NHS; they’re private contractors who make a profit from providing healthcare.

Thanks to Darren Jones, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, that last fact might be reaching more of the public.