7. Could you explain what you understand by risk pooling and whether the use of the private sector to deliver services puts it at risk?
An example of risk pooling in the health sector is the Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts (CNST) under which Trusts pay in to a fund from which negligence claims are paid. The contributions from Trusts are related to the risks posed but in total they are less than commercial insurance premiums.
Special arrangements have been made to allow Independent Treatment Sector Centres (ISTCs) to be covered through the referring Primary Care Trust's membership. The system will be put at risk if the standard of service provided by the private sector is lower than that provided by the public sector and if this higher risk is not covered by higher contributions.