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NHS users 'should be charged a £10 monthly membership fee'

People should be charged a £10 monthly membership fee for using the NHS, a new report says. Co-authored by former Labour health minister Lord Warner, the study called for radical changes to how the NHS is funded.

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Government dismisses 'NHS membership' proposal

The Government said it disagreed with the idea of using membership fees to help fund the NHS - as proposed by think tank Reform - saying the service would remain "universally free at point of use".

A Department of Health spokesman said:

The founding principles of the NHS make it universally free at point of use and we are clear that it will continue to be so.

This Government doesn't support the introduction of membership fees or anything like them. But we know that with an ageing population there's more pressure on the NHS, which is why we need changes to services that focus far more on health prevention out of hospitals.

– Department of Health

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