To ask if you have private health insurance?

No and No? Though I had the option through work.
I've concentrated on healthy diet and exercise instead.

Yes I have it through work as a benefit in kind. I've used it a few times for small treatments that the NHS don't even provide anymore like Chalazion removal. I'm really pleased I have it as I have a high cancer risk.

What’s luxurious about paying for private health insurance?? Erm … having the means to pay for private health insurance? Please get your head out your arse.

Also, my friend had just joined BUPA when she discovered she had breast cancer. This sadly came back a couple of years later in Covid. She was still having regular checkups (her NHS appointments had been paused). They realised the cancer was back in lockdown. If she had only had her NHS checkups she would have been dead before she was seen again. Private healthcare literally saved her life.

I had a knee problem. I tried the GP about 5 times and had an X ray. Apparently ,it was mild osteoarthritus and I was given a few physio exercises. It got much worse to the point that I couldn't sleep and couldn't really walk. I tried my GP about 4 times with no response and at the last request for an appointment they texted me to go to A and E. I remembered that I had been added to a family healthcare plan for BUPA. I had a consultant appointment within a week and I had some steriod injections and some one on one physio. It was not osteoarthritus but inflamation which was causing the pain. I cannot tell you the improvement in my quality of life. I was in so much pain and a simple injection and some exercises has fixed it. I think the NHS is amazing but can't deliver for the vast majority of people anymore. I think you are very much in the minority if you have a good GP these days.

It’s definitely not a luxury 🤣 why would you pay for health insurance if you didn’t need to? You’d be spending it on actually ‘luxurious’ items surely, like holidays etc?

Yeah I do through my work. Would never want to rely on NHS for anything other than emergency care

It's interesting that a lot of people say relying on the NHS is scary.

I spoke to a nurse on Wednesday last week about abnormal periods. Had bloods done on Monday, results back yesterday and a suspected PCOS diagnosis with a referral for an ultrasound today.

I don't think I'd achieve anything different by going privately. I wonder how much of it varies by area.

Yes, wouldn’t be without it in the UK. Being 100% reliant on the NHS would be very scary imho.

We all have health insurance that pays £200 pp for optician and also dentist every year. DS always claims for his children and reckons their policy pays for itself.

No, I have various chronic health conditions and I don’t think going private would make any difference. I’ve had excellent treatment when I’ve needed it and regular monitoring at my local hospitals. When I needed surgery it had to be at an NHS hospital anyway because of my illness.

No, never even considered it. If it came down to it we could afford to pay for the typical non urgent ops with long waiting lists eg hip, knee. Dp did have insurance but it only paid the bare minimum for cataract surgery, still cost £3800 to get the better lenses, would have been £5000 without insurance they said.

We have private healthcare via DH's work which I am really grateful for.

We've only really used it for the dentist/GP so far, but it's been invaluable to get a few same day GP appts when we've been quite ill - our NHS GP would be a 3 week wait.

I have it via work. During the pandemic I was on the brink of suicide. GP referred me to CAHMs who never followed up. I was on my knees.

I ended up getting out patient treatment from a psychiatrist. Literally a life saver

I genuinely get upset thinking about how desperate people get treated in this country when their mental health deteriorates.

Apologies, I don’t have experience of lots of different policies. Sounds like I’ve just been lucky with the policies that my company and my partners company use.

Yes and I can’t really afford it but for my peace of mind I pay - I have had patients crying on the phone in pain having been on waiting lists for 10 months or and don’t want to be in that position with work!

Indeed. And claiming it’s an ‘essential’ and not a luxury. Truly mind warping.

“Often”?

I’ve been on lots of company schemes which have very generous cover. Many have moratoriums for pre existing conditions.

I have several chronic illnesses so I'm using to managing some level of pain daily. I guess I'm just used to coping. I think private insurance tends to attract people who worry about getting sick or dying. When you're already sick you just don't worry about it the same. At least in my experience.

No, I don’t know anyone who has private health insurance. It’s really expensive and I’m not likely to be insurable - both DH and I have had cancer twice.

This thread is a prime example of how MN doesn't actually reflect real life

People describing a lack of expensive, non-essential insurance as "borderline neglectful" is just bonkers.

I don't know a single person who has any kind of private health coverage with the exception of dental. They all just use the NHS and manage just fine.

Yes and I work in the industry. I think it is valuable, but remember there are many things where cover is limited- particularly anything chronic or where mental health issues are long term. So it is useful, but has limits.