Martin Blain with BUPA CEO Alex Perry at the official launch of the petition.

AMII General Secretary, Michael Payne has today confirmed that they will relaunch the petition calling for health insurance to be exempt from IPT after the general election.

The petition was originally set to run for six months and it now states “Deadline 00:01am on 3 May 2017”. After it is relaunched all of the current signatures will be lost and the count will start again from zero.

We have been actively promoting this petition as we believe that a vibrant private medical sector can play a significant role in removing demand from the NHS. IPT is set to increase to 12% in June 2017 whilst we think it should be zero rated. If IPT continues on an upward trajectory there’s a danger people will be forced to cancel their medical insurance due to affordability issues leaving the NHS to take up the slack.

Lesson Moore Director, Martin Blain commented,

“A relaunch to a media not absorbed by the general election can only be helpful in building the inertia of this campaign. A new and secure government should be open for a strategic discussion about the role of the private sector in the overall provision of health services in the UK. Right now the NHS is like a sacred cow and no politician dares to suggest any policy beyond saying how much more money they’ll give it compared to their political opponents”.