The 10-year Health Plan for England: Decoding implications for healthcare product market access

Changes that reshape the launch environment

The UK Government’s 10-year Health Plan published 3 July 2025,¹ sets out an ambitious vision for the healthcare ecosystem in England. It proposes a shift in care delivery from hospitals to communities, from reactive treatment to prevention and from analogue systems to connected digital infrastructure. These reforms aim to relieve system pressure, improve health equity, and support a more sustainable health model. This transformative vision is designed to ensure that the National Health Service (NHS) remains fit for the future, accommodating the evolving needs of the population and the advancements in medical technology.

Many of the reforms will have clear implications for how healthcare products are assessed, adopted and paid for. In this article, we examine what the proposed changes mean from a healthcare product market access perspective. Key reforms include the implementation of ‘Innovator Passports’, multi-year contracts, a Single National Formulary (SNF) to reduce the dreaded “postcode lotteries”, a broader remit for the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), greater commissioning autonomy for Integrated Care Boards (ICBs), and the creation of an NHS HealthStore designed to enable access to NHS-approved apps that are NICE-assessed.

What follows is our analysis of how some of the key policy shifts cited in the Plan, may reshape the healthcare product market access environment and how manufacturers should consider preparing for success in this new landscape.

The innovator passport: Cutting through the gridlock

The plan proposes launching an Innovator Passport by 2026 to avoid repeated evaluations of the same product by multiple NHS bodies. It is intended to accelerate adoption of technologies that have already met established standards, thereby streamlining the process and allowing for innovative medical solutions to reach patients more quickly.

If implemented with clear criteria and centralised backing, the Innovator Passport may act as a promising accelerator of access. However, qualifying products may require evidence that is not always collected today, especially around real-world use and system-level impact. Companies will need to invest in generating robust real-world evidence to demonstrate the efficacy, safety, and economic value of their products in everyday clinical settings. This shift will likely necessitate collaboration with healthcare providers and patients to gather comprehensive data that supports the benefits of innovative treatments.

Out with the old to make way for the new: NICE to take charge of disinvestment decisions to free up resources for investment in newer innovations

The plan outlines a clearer role for NICE in disinvestment decisions. Rather than only assessing new technologies, NICE would evaluate whether older treatments still represent best value. This proactive approach aims to ensure that NHS resources are allocated to interventions that offer the greatest benefit to patients and the healthcare system.

This could raise the bar on comparative value. Products offering similar outcomes at higher costs might face exclusion, even if they remain clinically effective. As a result, manufacturers will need to continually assess and demonstrate the value proposition of their products in comparison to both new and existing therapies. This dynamic environment will encourage ongoing innovation.

Decentralising decision-making: The growing influence of ICBs

ICBs are positioned to take on more strategic commissioning responsibility, including budget expenditure decision making and innovation prioritisation. This isn’t new in theory, but the combination of financial control, local autonomy and expected accountability may give ICBs considerable influence over product adoption.

The forthcoming SNF, to be introduced by 2027, will provide a standard list of medicines approved for use across England. Unlike the current system where local formularies can delay or limit access after national approval, inclusion in the SNF sets a consistent expectation but does not guarantee uniform use. ICBs will decide how treatments integrate into local care models. This means that manufacturers will need to engage with ICBs to ensure their products are not only included in the SNF but also adopted within local healthcare pathways. This localised engagement will require the need for value stories tailored to both national and local priorities, with localisation critical for achieving market access and driving adoption. Strong stakeholder mapping will become essential to identify key ICB and provider level decision-makers.

The plan also introduces the concept of Integrated Health Organisations (IHOs), where high-performing provider collaboratives could take on full responsibility for budgets, care delivery and outcomes. In these settings, the distinction between commissioning and provision is likely to blur, which may influence both the speed and structure of how new products are introduced.

Prevention at the centre of value framing

The plan places prevention at the centre of reforms, highlighting the preventability of many diseases. For example, it positions bold action on obesity, smoking and social determinants of health as essential to bending the ‘NHS cost curve’. It also introduces a new genomics population health service, integrating predictive analytics into routine care. This focus on prevention aligns with the broader goal of improving population health and reducing the long-term burden on the healthcare system.

Technologies that support earlier intervention, reduce hospital admissions, or help delay disease progression are likely to align more closely with NHS priorities. Economic models may need to demonstrate long-term system-wide savings such as reductions in hospitalisation, delayed disease progression, or improved workforce participation. Manufacturers will need to develop compelling value narratives that highlight the preventive value of their products, including how they contribute to early diagnosis, disease management, and overall health improvement.

Digital health access in a prevention-first funding landscape

The plan proposes transforming the NHS App into a full-service portal and the creation of the HealthStore as a curated platform for approved digital tools. The NHS App is set to become a standard part of NHS care by 2028. It will host a range of functions including appointment booking, care planning, medication management and direct access to diagnostics and consultations. Patients will also be able to leave feedback, manage care for dependents and access personalised health data. In time, clinical trial recruitment is also expected to be linked to the NHS App. Wearables are also expected to become standard in preventative, chronic and post-acute care, with the plan aiming to provide devices free of charge in areas with high health need or deprivation. This creates new opportunities for healthcare product manufacturers in areas such as remote monitoring, long-term condition management and patient engagement.

The HealthStore will act as a curated platform within the NHS App for approved digital tools. For digital health companies, this represents a significant shift from the current fragmented procurement landscape toward a centralised, transparent access route. The plan states that the HealthStore will prioritise tools with strong evidence of effectiveness, particularly those evaluated by NICE, implying a preference for solutions that meet both regulatory and health technology assessment (HTA) standards, such as UK Conformity Assessed (UKCA) and NICE-approved technologies.

Value-based care takes the lead in evolving payment models

The plan signals a move away from volume-based funding to value-based care, where outcome-based models will reward innovations that can demonstrate measurable improvements in care quality and system efficiency. This may influence how healthcare products are evaluated, commissioned and reimbursed. As providers will be increasingly held accountable for outcomes, they may prioritise products that help in their achievement of those targets. As such, manufacturers may need to demonstrate how their interventions contribute to measurable improvements in care quality, efficiency and patient experience.

Outcome-based agreements (OBAs) and value-based pricing models could expand, particularly in areas where long-term system impact can be quantified. Payers and providers may expect manufacturers to link reimbursement not only to clinical endpoints, but to system-level metrics such as delayed disease progression or reductions in healthcare resource utilisation (HCRU). This aligns with work LCP have been involved in to develop sustainable and scalable methods for designing OBAs that work in practice². The plan goes further by proposing “pay for impact on health outcomes” models for new treatments, particularly in obesity. Under this approach, companies would not only be paid for achieving outcomes like weight loss, but also for delivering broader health benefits such as fewer heart attacks, strokes, or cancer diagnoses. This reinforces the need for manufacturers to generate robust real-world evidence (RWE) that demonstrates long-term health system savings and patient-relevant outcomes.

The proposals cited in the plan suggest trialling “Patient Power Payments,” a novel mechanism that would allow patients to influence whether full payment is released to a provider based on their experience of care. This initiative signals a broader shift toward embedding patient voice into financial decision-making flows. According to the plan, if patients are dissatisfied, a portion of the payment could be withheld and redirected to regional NHS improvement funds. For manufacturers, this may not immediately affect product reimbursement, but it highlights a system-wide trend: interventions that improve patient experience and engagement could become increasingly valuable in market access discussions.

Health equity considerations at the heart of proposed reforms

The plan emphasises reducing health inequalities. Innovations that reduce service burden and fit within community-led care models will likely be favoured. The focus on health equity is aimed at ensuring all individuals, regardless of their socioeconomic status or geographical location, have access to high-quality healthcare.

Manufacturers will need to consider how their products can support equitable access to care and contribute to reducing disparities in health outcomes. This may involve tailoring solutions to meet the needs of diverse populations and collaborating with community health providers to drive adoption. The proposed Neighbourhood Health Centres (NHCs) are positioned as the new hub for integrated, localised care, particularly in areas with the lowest healthy life expectancy. Products that can be delivered in or from the community such as remote monitoring tools, pharmacy-enabled services, or diagnostics that avoid hospital visits may be better aligned with this shift. By freeing up hospital resources, such innovations could enable reinvestment in underserved areas, contributing to efforts to address structural inequities in access and outcomes. The Plan also introduces new financial models, such as “Year of Care Payments”, which aim to reward providers for keeping patients well and out of hospital. This creates a strong incentive for commissioners to favour products that reduce healthcare resource use and support proactive, community-based care. As a result, RWE demonstrating long-term system savings and impact on high-need populations is likely to become increasingly important in market access discussions.

So, what does this all mean for healthcare product manufacturers?

Table 1 below sets out examples of the opportunities and threats the proposed reforms may have on different healthcare product manufacturers.

Manufacturers should see the 10-year Plan as an opportunity to redesign their launch models around NHS priorities i.e., population-level impact, economic value and service compatibility.

Companies will likely need to think beyond product level value and consider how their offer contributes to overall service improvement. This includes building prevention first narratives, supporting digital integration and demonstrating real world impact in settings the NHS is prioritising, including neighbourhood care, remote monitoring and earlier intervention. Success will hinge on localised engagement (ICBs will matter more than ever before), robust outcomes-focused evidence (real world data will become king) and digital integration (Single Patient Records and the NHS App will become central to the NHS digital transformation ambitions). Manufacturers that adapt swiftly to the proposed changes, will thrive in a market increasingly defined by value, equity and innovation.

At LCP Health Analytics, we help clients with product development planning, with expertise across RWE generation, Health Economics and Outcomes Research and Market Access strategy. If you are considering the relevance of the new Plan and specifically how it could impact your UK product market access planning, our experts are on hand and can help assess the likely impact and how you can adapt to take advantage of the evolving market landscape. Please reach out to Dr Jasim Uddin, Market Access Lead, if you would like to discuss further.

References

1. Department of Health and Social Care (2025). Fit for the Future: The 10-Year Health Plan for England. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/10-year-health-plan-for-england-fit-for-the-future
2. Burton, J.R., Halsby, K., de la Fuente, G.S. et al. Value-Based Healthcare in Practice: IDEATE, a Collaboration to Design and Test an Outcomes-Based Agreement for a Medicine in Wales. PharmacoEconomics 43, 191–207 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40273-024-01445-0