Northerner
Admin (Retired)
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- Type 1
The NHS and social-care systems in England should be merged in the most radical overhaul since the 1940s, an independent review says.
Currently the NHS is free at the point of need, while payment for care homes and home support is means-tested.
But the Barker Commission said the distinction was unfair and must end.
It said the cost of providing free social care could come from a mix of new taxes and cuts to benefits and prescription exemptions.
This could include ending the National Insurance exemption for those working past the state retirement age, the expert panel led by economist Dame Kate Barker suggested.
Increasing National Insurance contributions for those earning more than £42,000 a year by 1% and for those above the age of 40 by the same amount was also suggested.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-29047190
Currently the NHS is free at the point of need, while payment for care homes and home support is means-tested.
But the Barker Commission said the distinction was unfair and must end.
It said the cost of providing free social care could come from a mix of new taxes and cuts to benefits and prescription exemptions.
This could include ending the National Insurance exemption for those working past the state retirement age, the expert panel led by economist Dame Kate Barker suggested.
Increasing National Insurance contributions for those earning more than £42,000 a year by 1% and for those above the age of 40 by the same amount was also suggested.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-29047190