It is a truth universally acknowledged that ageing populations, advancing technology and rising expectations are going to make healthcare “unaffordable”.

Health ministers, whenever they meet, grapple with the issue. Taxpayers fret about it. Private insurers trumpet it, arguing that a far greater proportion of healthcare costs will have to be covered by them rather than taxpayers – privately rather than collectively because collective systems, whether tax-funded or social insurance, will be unable to meet the bill.