Up to half the NHS beds in Liverpool will be prioritised for paying private healthcare patients under a scheme condemned by Labour as "privatisation through the front door".
The government plans are to be implemented across Liverpool hospitals where there are a total of 2,400 NHS beds.
The changes to the Health and Social Care bill will mean 49% - 1,200 beds - will not be available to patients using the national free health care system.
Liverpool Labour claim operation waiting times for NHS patients could also increase as the new plans favour paying patients in need of surgery.
Health Secretary Andrew Lansley announced the move in the House of Lords which has been met with fierce criticism from Labour on Merseyside and the North West.
Wavertree ward councillor Jake Morrison, 19, is campaigning to block the legislation.
The Labour councillor, who beat former Lord Mayor Mike Storey in the May local elections, works as a healthcare assistant at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital.
He said: "It is clear the NHS is not safe in the hands of Tory-Lib Dem ministers.
"I've got first hand experience of the world class care the NHS offers people across Liverpool and under the previous Labour government waiting lists were reduced.
"There are more doctors and nurses working now than there have ever been.
"Their plans will push NHS patients to the back of the queue and will let private patients in first to try and maximise their income to make up for government cuts to their budgets."
Cllr Joe Anderson, leader of Liverpool City Council, said: "We used to warn about privatisation by the back door, but this is privatisation by the front door.
"Very simply, the Tories and Lib Dems want to turn our hospitals into businesses, where profit will take priority.
"It will threaten the elderly, the sick and those who need healthcare. It will undermine the basic principles of an NHS which is free at the point of use for everyone, regardless of their ability to pay."
The Shadow Health Secretary, Andy Burnham MP, is mentoring 19 year-old Jake Morrison as he continues his work for the city from Wavertree, a Labour stronghold for over 30 years.
Mr Burnham said: "This free-market re-organisation opens the door to an explosion of private work in the NHS, meaning longer waits for NHS patients.
"It takes us straight back to the bad old days of the Tory NHS, when the only choice patients had was to wait longer or pay to go private.
"Time is running out for the NHS but it's not too late.
"If the public and professionals stand together we can stop the government turning our precious NHS into a US-style commercial system, where hospitals are more interested in profits than people."
A Department of Health spokesperson said: "The amendments to the Health and Social Care bill mean that, importantly, trusts will be able to spend more money on innovative care and technology.
"We are committed to giving hospitals greater freedoms, which is why we will allow foundation trusts to expand the range of services they offer.
"This does not represent privatisation of the NHS - it simply gives to foundation hospitals the same freedoms non-foundation hospitals have had for years.
"Services for NHS patients will be safeguarded because foundation hospitals will still have as their core legal purpose a duty to provide services to them.
"The amendment we are making provides further reassurance on this duty."
Liverpool Labour is urging people in the city to sign the petition at www.dropthebill.com and a cross-party campaign for councillors and MPs is available at cllrsforournhs.wordpress.com.
Pat Fisher, SWINDON around 4 months, 3 weeks ago