In some systems, patients can also take private health insurance but choose to receive care at public hospitals, if allowed by the private insurer.

Capping costs in that way means that private insurers will be willing to enter the market to cover the first 35,000.

The suggestion that the private insurers were considering raising the premiums for personnel with families to just under 1,000 provoked anger.

The presumption should be that it will then be shut down unless private insurers are prepared to take on the risk.

Private insurers did not check when doctors were claiming for radically different procedures to their colleagues.