The UK’s recent budget has included a rise in employer National Insurance contributions. While the NHS and public sector are not affected by the tax rise, privately owned hospitals, hospices, and care homes are, including those that provide NHS services. There is also some uncertainty as to how the increase will impact on GPs, many of which are run as small businesses. The Department for Health and Social Care has confirmed that additional details regarding GPs will be announced, but a Treasury minister has stated that they will have to pay the increase.
Dr David Wrigley, a GP and deputy chair at the British Medical Association, has warned that the rise in employer National Insurance contributions will have a “monumental” impact on the sector. He has called for a “rapid announcement of full reimbursement.” Other care groups, including the Independent Care Group which represents social care providers, and Hospices UK, which represents hospices across the country, have also expressed concerns about the increase. Hospices UK has called for everyone who provides NHS services to be treated the same as NHS bodies.
On Thursday, Wes Streeting, the UK Health Secretary, acknowledged that the increase would impact a number of healthcare providers. He told the BBC’s World at One programme, “I’m working through that now and I’ll have more to say on that in the coming weeks in terms of what we can do more quickly to deliver the shift I’ve wanted to see for some time, in the focus of NHS investment spending out of hospitals into primary community.” Streeting stated that the increase in the Budget had allocated an extra £600m to social care. Care groups have said that this will not be enough and will be “wiped off instantly” through increased staffing costs.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said that the rise in National Insurance for employers was “difficult” but necessary to fund public services, including the NHS. Of the £40bn in tax increases set out in the budget, £25bn will come from the National Insurance increase. From next spring, the rate that employers pay in contributions will rise from 13.8% to 15% on a worker’s earnings over £175. A spokesperson for the Health Department has said that they will ensure practices have the resources they need to offer their patients the highest quality care and will hire an additional 1,000 GPs by the end of this year
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