Where does this leave us? The NHS funding model is under the microscope – political parties may go into the next election arguing for a new one. There is no silver bullet; better to focus on improving services within the current model which is relatively cheap by western European standards.

Fifth, what do the public think? Despite the NHS’s challenges, our polling (and others too) shows that the public remains overwhelmingly supportive of the NHS funding model – mainly tax funded and free at the point of use. www.health.org.uk/reports-and-...

Fourth, health systems across Europe face shared pressures like ageing populations, rising costs, prices. Countries with social insurance models are grappling with these issues too. The UK still spends less per head than many other countries and keeps costs down. www.health.org.uk/features-and...

Third, Sajid highlighted other countries, eg Australia and Singapore, which fund healthcare in different ways. Looking abroad for lessons can be useful, but has to be done with real care because context matters in health care (as set out in this briefing). www.health.org.uk/reports-and-...

Second, we commissioned the OECD to explore the design and performance of different countries’ health systems. That work looked at health systems – tax funded and social insurance – and found that no type consistently outperformed others. www.health.org.uk/features-and...

First, across a number of European countries, distinctions between tax and social insurance models are blurring over time, and there’s no clear relationship between the model of funding used and the amounts of £ spent on healthcare. www.health.org.uk/reports-and-...

First, across a number of European countries, distinctions between tax and social insurance models are blurring over time, and there’s no clear relationship between the model of funding used and the amounts of £ spent on healthcare. www.health.org.uk/reports-and-...

Sajid isn’t alone: a range of voices have put forward similar arguments recently. What does the evidence say about the pros and cons of a different funding model for the NHS? A few points from the Health Foundation’s recent analysis:

And..the UK spends per capita less on health care than Netherlands Germany France Switzerland ..not more - our analysis pictured in the FT