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| National Health Care Service Act, 2005 Section 1 1. This act may be cited as the National Health Care Service Act, 2005. Section 2 1. The National Health Care Service of the Empire shall be created within the Ministry of the Interior. 2. The Alexandrian government shall have a responsibility to ensure that National Health Care Service is adequately funded such that a high quality of medical and dental care may be provided to the whole population. 3. National Health Care Service shall be financed purely from federal revenue appropriated by the Imperial Parliament. Section 3 1. Medical and dental services shall be charged at a maximum fee per service, regardless of cost. 2. This fee shall be set by the Minister of the Interior. 3. This fee may not exceed the value of the minimum wage at any time. 4. Any medical or dental practitioner providing services under this Act may bill the patient, or National Health Care Service. 5. A patient billed by their practitioner may later claim the maximum fee from National Health Care Service. 6. A practitioner who bills their patients may charge more than the maximum fee for a service. 7. The Alexandrian government shall pay in full the college fees of those medical students who agree to work for National Health Care Service for at least four years after they receive their qualifications. Section 4 1. National Health Care Service shall establish and operate a system of free public hospitals. 2. Private hospitals shall continue to coexist with the public hospitals. 3. National Health Care Service shall provide free hospital care of all kinds to all Alexandrian citizens. 4. The exception shall be where the Minister of the Interior regards the operation asked for as frivolous or wholly necessary. Cosmetic surgery might fall into such a category. 5. Doctors and hospital staff employed by National Health Care Service shall not charge for consultations, for visits, for medical advice, for operations, or for hospital food; nor may they levy any other charges except as set out below. 6. National Health Care Service shall ensure that there is at least one public health centre in every town of more than 6,000 residents; and that every town and every city has at least one public hospital per 150,000 residents. Section 5 1. Drug prescriptions shall be charged at a maximum price per prescription, regardless of drug cost. This price shall be set by the Minister of the Interior. This price may not exceed the value of the minimum wage at any time. 2. If someone is unable to obtain a doctor's prescription for a drug, then the full price of the drug is payable, if indeed the Ministry of the Interior has licensed that drug for general sale. 3. Any shop selling prescription medicines shall sell them at the price fixed under this act to those people who have a valid doctor's prescription. 4. National Health Care Service shall reimburse the shop for any remainder in the cost of the drug. 5. The groups exempt from any and all prescription charges shall be: a. Hospital patients; b. Those registered with the government as unemployed for reason other than laziness; c. Those under 18; d. College students; e. Those on government pension schemes; and f. Those over 65. Section 6 1. This act shall enter into effect on the day it receives Imperial Assent. |