Johnson says he'll tell Trump: Hands off UK health service

[mfcorey1]

NEW YORK (AP) — Britain’s prime minister has promised to tell U.S. President Donald Trump that any notion of American firms buying parts of the U.K.’s beloved, state-funded health service will be off the table in future trade negotiations, and that the United States will have to open its markets to British goods if it wants to make a deal.

Boris Johnson said he would draw his red lines for the protectionist president when the two leaders meet this week at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Johnson arrived at the global gathering on Monday with a balancing act to effect. He’s trying to persuade European Union leaders to strike an elusive divorce deal with Britain, while also laying the groundwork for a post-Brexit trade agreement with the United States — seen by the government as one of the main prizes of Brexit.

The Conservative prime minister is keen to forge a strong relationship with the Republican president, who has called the British leader “a really good man.”

But Johnson told reporters flying with him to New York that he would tell Trump “that when we do a free trade deal, we must take sure that the (National Health Service) is not on the table, that we do not in any way prejudice or jeopardize our standards on animal welfare and food hygiene in the course of that deal, and that we open up American markets.”

https://www.apnews.com/19f4a9bd02104237a9b8c4f762fbbfd9

Opponents of Brexit fear the NHS — an overstretched but much-loved institution founded in 1948 to provide free health care to all Britons — will be opened to private U.S. firms as part of trade negotiations. They also have suggested Britain may have to accept chlorine-washed chicken, a U.S. poultry industry practice that is banned in the European Union.

[OnDoutside]

1. I really hope he does, and Trump tells him no deal so....

[ret5hd]

2. My take is that Johnson just signaled Trump...

that “U.K.’s beloved, state-funded health service” will be ON the table ASAP, pronto, and on the cheap as soon as the proper “grease” is applied.

[area51]

3. +1 n/t

[Denzil_DC]

4. That horse has bolted.

From 2016:

US firms look to capitalise as NHS becomes increasingly privatised
Whether it be via direct partnerships or the acquisition of well-placed British groups, US health companies see plenty of upside in ‘supporting’ the NHS

The patriotically named Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) has seen a big opportunity in working with the NHS since 2006. The company has formed what it calls HCA NHS Ventures, which are partnerships with NHS trusts to provide clinics and hospitals. Though a part of the NHS, these facilities serve only private patients.

HCA has built several state-of-the-art cancer facilities through the partnership such as Harley Street at University College hospital and the Christie clinic. While real estate selling points are normally not part of NHS treatment, Harley Street at University College London boasts that the cancer ward offers “stunning panoramic views across London”. The company also has a number of strictly private hospitals in London, such as the Princess Grace hospital and the Portland hospital.

HCA, with a market capitalisation of more than $28bn, is known as one of the biggest healthcare facility companies in the US. The company’s UK arm is part of the Private Hospitals Alliance, a lobbying group that supports the role of private company participation in NHS services.

Instead of directly partnering with the NHS, some US companies have entered the UK through acquisitions, hoping to build relationships through existing British companies. To that end, the US hospital and clinic operator Tenet Healthcare in 2015 acquired Aspen Healthcare, an operator of private hospitals and clinics in the UK. Tenet said at the time of the acquisition that it hoped that owning Aspen would provide “increasing opportunities to work with and support the National Health Service”. Tenet also noted to investors that “privatisation of UK marketplace, given market inefficiencies and pressures on the National Health Service, should create organic and de novo opportunities” for the US company. The publicly traded Tenet employs more than 130,000 people and operates more than 470 outpatient centres, 84 acute care hospitals and 20 short stay hospitals in the US.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/feb/08/us-firms-look-to-capitalise-as-nhs-becomes-increasingly-privatised