GPs, care homes and hospices have raised concerns about the impact of the rise in employer National Insurance contributions announced in the Budget.

The NHS and the rest of the public sector are exempt from the tax increase – but that doesn’t cover private care homes or hospices that provide NHS services.

There is also confusion about the impact on GPs, many of whom are run as small businesses.

The Department of Health and Social Care said further details for GPs would be confirmed in due course – but a Treasury minister told Question Time they would have to pay the fee increase.

Dr David Wrigley, GP and vice-president of the British Medical Association, said the impact of the tax increase would be “monumental”.

He told X that many were “already on a financial tightrope” and called for a “quick announcement of full repayment”.

Mike Padgham, chairman of the Independent Care Group, which represents social care providers, said the sector had been “left out in the cold”.

“We now collectively employ more than the NHS – 1.7 million people. So these extra charges will hit charities and private sector providers alike when we’ve been squeezed by cash-strapped local authorities.

“So if we pay more, we’re going to have to charge more.”

Hospices UK said those who provide NHS services should be treated the same as NHS bodies.

“Paying a fair wage to brilliant and compassionate hospice staff accounts for the largest share of running costs and so it is disappointing that the Chancellor has not exempted charities or non-NHS service providers from at National Insurance yesterday. stand up,” he said.

On Thursday, Health Secretary Wes Streeting admitted there were a number of healthcare providers who would be affected by the rise in NI for employers.

Asked whether social care providers would be protected, he told the BBC’s World at One programme: “I’m moving on to that now and I’ll have more to say about that in the coming weeks in terms of what we can do more quickly to it delivers the change I have wanted to see for some time at the heart of NHS investment from hospitals into the primary community.”

He pointed to the extra £600m allocated to social care in the budget.

For GPs, Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones said in Question Time on Thursday that GPs would have to pay NI employer contributions.

“GP surgeries are private partnerships, they are not part of the public sector,” he said. “So they will have to pay them.”

But he said “how much they pay will depend on size”, because the government has designed the new system “to protect the smallest businesses”.

“The OBR have confirmed that over 50% of businesses will either pay no more than they already pay, pay less or not pay at all as we have increased the threshold, the allowance, from £5,000 to £10,500 per year,” he said.

He added: “For the wider public sector … we will be working on this through the system, understanding the implications for different public services.”