Does the English NHS have a ‘Health Benefit Basket’?

Abstract

A ‘health benefit basket’ is a range of publicly entitled health-related goods and services. Primary legislation ensures the provision of broad categories of healthcare, but this provision is subject to political discretion. Case law has established that healthcare organisations may not operate a ‘blanket ban’ for particular services. This means that the English health basket currently has very few specific services explicitly included or excluded. Regulation may, however, be important in determining citizens’ rights. With reference to ‘services of curative care’, this paper explores whether the NHS is moving towards a more explicit definition of a health basket.