Copayment ban to be scrapped

It looks like we are going to see the end of restrictions on copayment (via Tim Worstall). That is absolutely brilliant news, for reasons I've set out at length before. It's a real shame that it has taken this long, and comes too late for some patients. However, all credit to Doctors for Reform who have fought the issue very effectively. This section from the Telegraph article suggests their work was key:

"But in recent weeks they are understood to have been persuaded that the NHS already contains “top ups”, particularly in dentistry and in some hospitals, where patients can pay for private rooms."

Such a change of heart may well have something to do with this research (PDF).