Company Makes Millions off NHS, Campaigns Against Free US Healthcare

A US health corporation that makes millions from the NHS is funding a campaign against NHS-style reforms in America, VICE can reveal. The corporation is backing attempts to influence the Democrats’ choice of Presidential candidate, discredit Bernie Sanders’ health plans, and stop universal healthcare coming to the USA.

Universal Health Services Inc. (UHS), which has UK NHS contracts worth over £300 million per year is backing the anti-“Medicare-for-all” campaign. UHS call themselves “partners” to the UK Health Service, but the company's attempts to derail any similar system in their native United States calls into question how much they really share the values of the NHS.

The Partnership for America’s Healthcare Future (PAHCF), a coalition of private health and drug firms, have run anti-“Medicare for All” advertisements since their 2018 launch.

In the United States, retired over 65-year-olds can get state run health insurance, or “Medicare”, while the majority rely on workplace or private health insurance. Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders and former contender Elizabeth Warren both proposed versions of “Medicare for All” – a state-run healthcare system for all US citizens, much closer to European style universal healthcare. The PAHCF group oppose this scheme and seem especially keen to attack Bernie Sanders’ campaign for the Democrat leadership.

PAHCF paid over a million dollars for advertisements in US States holding primaries to select a Democrat presidential candidate. A typical PAHCF advertisement shows a young mother at a school basketball court saying: “Like every mom, my family’s healthcare is a top priority. That’s why I’m concerned that new government-controlled healthcare systems politicians are pushing are a real threat [that might] more than double income taxes.”

Another advertisement shows a range of actors from different ages and races portraying people from blue-collar and white-collar jobs saying: “We come from different walks of life, but we agree on one important thing: We don’t want to be forced into a one size fits all government insurance system”, because, the advert says, it will lead to “higher taxes”, “lower quality care” and “politicians and bureaucrats in charge of our healthcare”.

PAHCF’s latest tax returns show a $5 million annual income. Official documents show the campaign spending on Democrat-linked lobbyists, think-tanks and consultants, as well as advertising. PAHCF’s many donors include UHS, a major American hospital corporation.

While UHS is against publicly funded healthcare in the States, it’s happy to take advantage of it in the UK.

UHS has a wholly owned UK subsidiary, Cygnet Health, which runs psychiatric hospitals for the NHS. Cygnet has a £375 million turnover in the UK. Thanks to the part-privatisation of the NHS, this mostly comes from NHS contracts: Around £100 million comes directly from NHS England. Local NHS commissioning groups pay much of the rest, with local authorities also funding social care beds.

UHS view their UK subsidiary as so important that the company logo shows two head office locations, one in a Pennsylvania town called King of Prussia, where the firm was historically based, and one in the Cygnet office in Millbank, central London.

The large sums from UK taxpayers given to UHS/Cygnet do not guarantee good care. The BBC’s Panorama exposed abuse at one Cygnet hospital for patients with autism and learning difficulties in May 2019.

Following the Panorama expose, the Care Quality Commission inspected all the firm’s hospitals. Six Cygnet Units are currently graded “inadequate”. Cygnet were told to take “immediate action” to improve management of the whole company by inspectors, who found the chain was more likely to use physical restraint or seclude patients than other NHS providers.

VICE asked UHS Inc and their Cygnet UK subsidiary if supporting the campaign against NHS-style reforms in the US means it doesn’t didn’t really share NHS values in the UK.

Cygnet said it is, “proud to provide support to the National Health Service and we share a commitment to delivering safe, effective and quality care for patients across the UK”.

In reference to the Care Quality Commission criticism of their UK services, Cygnet said: “We take seriously any recommendations for improvement and work closely with the CQC and other stakeholders to ensure we continuously innovate to meet the high standards expected.”

It added: “The CQC has acknowledged that where areas for improvement have been identified across a very small number of our services, our senior leaders have taken steps to enhance quality, through investment and the provision of additional resource and support.”

Cygnet’s US parent, UHS Inc, defended their backing for the anti-Medicare-for-All campaign. It told VICE that the company, “strongly support the mission of the NHS and work in partnership with NHS in our efforts to provide necessary health services to a critical patient population in the UK.”

The company said that in the United States: “UHS and the Partnership for America’s Health Care Future support health coverage and accessibility for all Americans. We support the mission and goals of the Affordable Care Act signed into law in 2010. We believe that America should maintain, strengthen and build on the foundation and structure of the Affordable Care Act to ensure all Americans have access to health care.”

The 2010 Affordable Care Act, introduced by President Obama and commonly called “Obamacare”, brought millions of more poor people into “Medicaid”, a government funded health support scheme for the lowest paid, but still leaves millions without health insurance.

While the PAHCF focussed on attacking the NHS-style “Medicare for All” plan proposed by Sanders, they also oppose Presidential candidate Joe Biden’s much more limited health reforms. Biden proposes what is called the “public option” – a small, additional state-run health insurance scheme to compete with or supplement America’s private health insurance. Other presidential candidates, including Pete Buttigieg and Mike Bloomberg, backed some form of public option.

However, PAHCF claim in articles published on their website that “the public option is not a ‘moderate’ alternative” to Sanders plans, and argue “American families can’t afford the public option”. It seems likely that if Biden does become the Democrat’s Presidential candidate, the private health industry would then turn fire on his limited health reforms.

@SolHughesWriter