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Charging the worried-well is the way forward

I think charging patients for care if they lead an unhealthy lifestyle misses the biggest point (‘Why charging for care is not the answer’). The group ‘wasting’ the most money are those anxious about their health: who asks a GP to check their chest when they have a cold or take their child’s bruises to A&E. Many of these cases would not bother if there was a small charge and very few would do so if they paid the true cost of the attendance. Is anyone brave enough to tackle this?

From Dr Bryan Anglim, Ipswich