IEA Head of Political Economy Kristian Niemietz has been quoted in The Guardian discussing proposals to fine people who miss GP appointments. Kristian opposed the idea, but suggested that the NHS could adopt small charges for GP appointments as systems in Switzerland and the Scandinavian countries, among others, already do.

Kristian said:

“Most healthcare systems use co-payments of some sort, even in egalitarian Scandinavia. There’s nothing unusual about them. It’s only in Britain that they’re such a taboo topic,”

Read the full article here.

Kristian discussed the possibility of co-payments in his 2016 paper, Universal Healthcare without the NHS (pp.107-111).