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by 58028641 1201 days ago
Just cause the dollar amount is increasing doesn't mean it isn't being defunded. You have to account for inflation, population size, and population age distribution.
4 comments

You’d be changing the definition of “defunded” then. It means “less money”.
then the term should be "underfunded".
"...and population age distribution."

Ay, there's the rub.

NHS spending has increased by over 6.5% yearly since 2010, with even more massive increases planned for 2024-25.

Want a comparison? France's healthcare spending increased 0.3% yearly in the same timeframe. The UK is outpacing France's spending increases by 2,066%.

The spending argument is made from political propaganda, not from fact.

You can increase more than others and still be funded less than them. The EU on average still spends dramatically more per capita on health.

The spending argument is nuanced and complex. Declaring that it's "not from fact" just reveals your partisan leanings.

https://www.health.org.uk/news-and-comment/charts-and-infogr...

No it doesn't. When private healthcare is included the UK spends about the same.
> increased by over 6.5% yearly since 2010

Could you provide a source for that? Such an increase would imply a doubling of the budget over that time period. I can't find anything that suggests the NHS budget has doubled since 2010.

From what I can gather, the NHS spending adjusted for inflation increased modestly over the time period.

Taking into account the fact that costs in the healthcare sector have increased more than CPI globally, that increase could well correspond to a decrease in purchasing power.

That doesn't yet take into account the UK specific issues around Brexit.

Tell that to the nurses who have to work ungodly hours to keep the system going.
France is still in the EU and has lots of former colonies to extract healthcare workers from. Their cultural diplomacy is one of the best compared to any former European colonialistic power.
What are you saying exactly? How much should spending have increased to account for inflation, population size, and population age distribution? Please give a specific number. Would that be a good use of limited resources?
Not exactly what you ask for, but "the NHS budget has traditionally risen by an average of 4% above inflation each year." (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-64190440)
Obviously NHS funding can't continue growing faster than inflation forever. That is unsustainable. At some point the NHS would consume the entire government budget.
And also, the population distribution can't continue skewing older indefinitely, that's unsustainable. At some point geriatrics would make up the entire population.

And yet, both of these trends can continue for quite some time, and one trend can outweigh the other for quite some time.

That's the rate which causes people to argue it's being "defunded".