{
  "id": 13156226,
  "title": "Insurance model is no substitute for the NHS | Letter",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/insurance-model-is-no-substitute-for-the-nhs-letter",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-10-09T16:13:09.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Guardian Health",
    "slug": "guardian-health",
    "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/oct/09/insurance-model-is-no-substitute-for-the-nhs"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In the article \"Dining across the divide\" published on October 4th, a young participant named Ted expressed his desire to abolish the National Health Service (NHS) and replace it with a social insurance model. This model would still provide free treatment at the point of need, but individuals would pay through insurance systems and have the option to choose their level of coverage. As a retired insurance underwriter, I firmly disagree with Ted's assertion.\n\nInsurance can be categorized into two types. The first type involves events that become more likely as time progresses, such as life assurance. As people age, the probability of dying increases, necessitating higher premiums to cover the associated risk. The second type consists of events whose likelihood remains relatively constant over time, like home insurance. The likelihood of a house catching fire is essentially the same for everyone, and the cost is distributed evenly among policyholders.",
  "summary": "Susan Jones points out that an NHS-style system does not require either sales costs or shareholder profits In Dining across the divide (4 October), the young participant, Ted, is quoted as expressing his “desire to abolish the NHS and replace it with a social insurance model. This would still have provision for free treatment at the point of need, but people would pay through insurance systems,…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}