Health care system is a common overhead capital

it was a surprising news that NHS in UK is being sold to American health providers under the TTIP. If the investors consider any policy of the UL government as against their profit, they would sue in a judgement institution under the World Bank, which is well known to be under strong influence of the US. It is the ISDS article based behaviour in TTIP. The UK government could not have the health care system return to the former public syste,

Health care is concerned with the people's health. It is beyond the logic of economy. It should be one of the common overhead capitals in the society. The profit pursuing policy would not lead to the public interest but only to the never ending increment of profit to those investors.

The same problem is going on with TPP in Japan. But our government or even mass media won't reveal on the agreement on health insurance and heath care providing system. ISDS is not questioned, either.  

Tories want to sell NHS to American firms under trade deal planned by ministers

• 23:23, 13 SEP 2014
• BY VINCENT MOSS

American health giants could end up running crucial parts of the service in a move which could prove to be irreversible

 
 
 
 
• 21479SHARES

PA

NHS for sale: Health minister Earl Howe backs the move

American health giants could end up running crucial sections of the NHS, under a deal planned by Tory ministers to let them bid on huge ­government contracts.

David Cameron’s team insist the plans have “immense potential”.

But campaigners say it means that if a future government tries to wrest back control of the health service from multinationals, it would face being sued by profiteering firms.

The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership agreement is currently being ­negotiated by the EU and the US.

Ministers believe the removal of trade barriers in a host of ­industries under the deal would boost the UK economy by £10billion a year.

Health Minister Earl Howe said the NHS should not be excluded from it, claiming it could help British medical and ­pharmaceutical firms.

He said: “It would be highly unwise and detrimental in our view to exclude health.”

But campaigning group 38 Degrees warned the trade deal would put the NHS at risk from profiteering US firms.

The group’s ­executive director David Babbs said: “It would open up Britain to the US health industry. How could that be anything but bad news for our NHS?”

And Unite assistant general secretary Gail Cartmail warned the shake-up could lead to legal challenges over NHS contracts by US health firms if a future ­government tried to take ­privatised health services back under public control.

She said: “The Government had no mandate to privatise our health service – they certainly don’t have a mandate to make it irreversible. We say to Cameron, use your veto.”

Earl Howe accused critics of “scaremongering” about the ­agreement and denied the ­Government was planning ­wholesale privatisation of the NHS.

More than 175,000 people have signed a petition calling on ­Business Secretary Vince Cable to “fix or scrap” the trade deal.

Shadow Health Secretary Andy Burnham says the NHS must be exempt from an agreement that threatens its future.