Personal Health Budgets in England: Mood Music or Death Knell for the National Health Service?

Personal health budgets in England are National Health Service (NHS) funds that can be allocated to certain groups of patients to allow them, together with their NHS support staff, to purchase services or equipment that they believe will enhance their health and well-being. Some see this as a welcome personalization of health care that increases people's control over their health. However, personal health budgets are being introduced at a time when rapid privatization of the English NHS is taking place and when restrictions are being placed on people's access to health care. As a result, many view their introduction as a diversionary gimmick designed to help pave the way for the conversion of the NHS into the insurance-based system, which many believe is the intention of the U.K. government. This article describes the research and policy context in which this controversial intervention is being introduced and presents recent expert debate between proponents and opponents of personal health budgets, from e-mail discussion lists.