Bill could net NHS £100m a year

The new Bill could net ¿100m a year for the NHS

The government has published a new Bill which could raise £100m a year for the NHS by making it easier for hospitals to collect money from insurers for treating road accident victims.

Ministers say the Road Traffic Act (NHS Charges) Bill will make the process of recovering some of the cost of treating accident victims less bureaucratic.

Currently, it is up to each individual hospital to make its own arrangements to identify and recover the money.

Ministers believe the current system probably costs more than is worthwhile.

The Bill will transfer responsibility for collecting NHS charges from individual hospitals, to the Secretary of State for Health, and establish a centralised, national administrative system to support the collection of charges.

There are two charges under the current system.

An Emergency Treatment Fee of £21-£30 is supposed to be collected at hospital, directly from any motorist involved in an accident.

A further charge is levied on insurance companies in cases where a motor accident victim makes a successful claim for compensation. At present, it is up to £295 for out-patient treament, and £2,949 for in-patient treatment.

Flat-rate fees

The Bill will scrap the Emergency Treatment Fee, and replace it with a new flat-rate fee of £354 for patients treated in accident and emergency departments or out-patient clinics, and a daily rate of £435 for patients admitted to hospital at in-patients.

It is estimated that the new system will generate at least £2 million a week. The money will be transferred directly to the hospitals offering care. A Compensation Recovery Unit at the Department of Social Security will be used to help recover the cash.

Ministers believe any increase in insurance premiums will be minimal as most insurers have already factored in potential NHS claims.

The right to claim back the cost of treating road crash victims pre-dates even the NHS, but less than 10% of claims are processed because of excess red tape. Failure to charge for crash care costs the NHS around £150m each year.

Health Secretary Frank Dobson said: "The present arrangements simply do not work and as a result the NHS is losing a huge amount of revenue."

For accidents that happen after the Bill comes into force and where the driver is not insured or cannot be traced, costs would be recovered from the Motor Insurers' Bureau.

Worrying precedent

Some doctors fear the new Bill could set a worrying precedent.

They want the NHS care to be funded through the central taxation system and are worried the Bill could lead to some people being denied NHS treatment.

But the NHS Confederation, which represents health authorities and trusts, has welcomed the Bill, saying the principle has been in place for 20 years.

Insurers are not so happy.

AA Insurance says the Bill could add £10 onto the average motor insurance premium of £260.

They fear it could mean "back-door taxation for motorists".

The Association of British Insurers says increased costs for insurers are likely to be passed on to consumers.

Spokesman Malcolm Tarling said: "It is not the insurers role to fund the NHS.

"Motorists already pay for the cost of the NHS through fuel tax, road tax, a tax on motor insurance and income taxes like the rest of the population, but they now face paying even more."