Private health insurance

[Wherediditgoto]

Reading the thread on A and E has frightened the Bejesus out of me. I’m really wondering if it’s time to get private health insurance. Can anyone recommend a good provider?

We have it through work

Barely used it as just found NHS easier

But it’s good for peace of mind

I have AXA, absolutely fantastic, can’t fault them. Most private hospitals have emergency care and if you are in London there is an emergency A&E, I use a health insurance broker Myhealthprotected.co.uk they review the policy each year to ensure my family have the best deal on the market, I can highly recommend them too, takes the stress out of working out what you need covered, you don’t need to deal with any paperwork too, big bonus, they literally handle everything.

I searched the market before we decided to go with a broker, and it was very overwhelming and seemed overpriced for what I had found. I wasn’t aware health insurance brokers existed (found on which) turns out some get preferential rates and the policy we were offered was substantially cheaper than what I found from my online research.

There are a couple of private a&es in London (I think the wellington and the princess grace have one and Portland has for kids) but they're more for i broke my arm and don't cover major accidents or life threatening issues. They are also usually not covered by the health insurance unless you're admitted for the issue.

Definitely go through a broker. There are subtle differences between apparently similar policies that may not be obvious.

I have experience of Aviva (very poor customer service), Vitality (excellent) and BUPA (no claims yet so can't comment on service, but when I asked my DH's oncologist whether he had any views about the various companies he said BUPA was the only one he had never had any issues with).

We're with WPA

If you have to stay in an NHS hospital you get a cash benefit so when my daughter broke her leg they paid out a certain amount for every day she was there.

We've used it for private GP appointments to get referred, physio, 2 x grommet operations, various other consultant appointments and treatments.

I definitely agree with a PP, wait times are now a bit longer as more people go private, but far, far quicker than NHS.

However I'm under NHS for a pre existing condition and the efficiency with which I am being seen with at the moment is amazing.

They don’t have private A&E, even if you can pay privately (please correct me if I’m wrong) but they do have Urgent Care Centres. We’ve had to go to NHS for A&E and can get shunted fairly quickly to private care once triaged, once the NHS staff know you can get out of their A&E and into private, they get us out quickly. That’s what we’ve had to do in emergency care but for Urgent Care yes we can go private.

I pay for Bupa for myself and dc (£70 per month). It's worth it for peace of mind. I've only had to use it once for dc and got a dermatology appt within 2 weeks. Diagnosis and prescription which I took to my gp and they did the script.

There is an issue with BUPA and their anaesthetists. It’s in the press.

In a nutshell, despite premiums and profits going up, I understand that the surgeons and anaesthetists have not had a pay rise in 25 years.

so if they were paid £100 for a procedure 25 years ago, they are paid £100 now.

As a result, hundreds of anaesthetists have deregistered from BUPA, which means that they still operate on BUPA patients but are not ‘fee assured.’ So they set their own fee rather than being paid whatever BUPA are willing to pay them.

I wonder if the ones who remain ‘fee assured’ might be the ones who have too much to lose by rocking the boat with BUPA, perhaps because they have not long qualified as a consultant, or because they have come in from abroad and don’t feel in a strong position.

So basically if you have an operation on BUPA, you may have to pay the anaesthetist yourself. I understand that currently BUPA are allowing their patients to claim this back, but im not sure that’s due to continue. I can’t imagine that BUPA have publicised this to their policy holders, and I’m sure that they will find you a ‘fee assured’ anaesthetist, but that does not equate to finding you the best anaesthetist, it just means that they will find you one who is are willing to be paid whatever they choose to
pay them.

I’m not personally supportive of making huge profits and charging increased premiums without paying staff properly, and this influenced my decision to choose a
different provider when I recently decided to get private insurance. I also don’t want to choose from a pool of staff willing to be paid peanuts and I’m not reassured by the clever use of ‘assured.’

I expect there will be a ripple effect, however by that point, perhaps the other providers will have seen the chaos this has caused for BUPA and proactively pay staff correctly before they have the same issues.

I imagine the surgeons are watching with interest, as in some cases I suspect that their anaesthetists are now earning more than them for the same operation.

DD has had multiple operations with non ‘fee-assured’ anaesthetists. Bupa cover a portion and then you pay the rest. The hospital told us that what you have to pay out of pocket is rarely more than £100 and they were right. £20 and no big deal.

We have Bupa through OH's work and it's amazing.

I am currently sectioned in a private mental health hospital costing over a grand a night. I would be in a shared dormitory in our local NHS mental health unit otherwise. I was previously sectioned here for over a year, that stay cost over half a million pounds.

I have therapy weekly, phsyio weekly, psychiatrist monthly and OH has physio fortnightly. DS sees a psychiatrist too (he has ASD and ADHD) and therapy weekly. I have had my gallbladder removed, OH has had an op too.

We've probably claimed over a million.

BUT I also worry about a&e, I am terrified of needing to go.

I used to work in private health insurance and can confirm that in an emergency you’d still have to go through A&E.

Private health insurance can reduce your wait time or get you a quicker diagnosis for non emergency stuff.

To clarify : reduce your wait time for treatment such as an op or getting to see a consultant.

It won’t reduce your wait time in A&E

We will get Axa through work, does it cover 100% specialist appointments? What about blood tests, imaging, physio, remedial massage?

It entirely depends on the policy you are offered, you will need to speak with your company to find out the policy specifications

There are very few private A&Es, but there are private ambulance services and urgent care facilities. Plus as PP say - earlier access to proper treatment can negate the need to visit A&E.

It can be a lifesaver for conditions badly under served such as mental health, many women's health problems or get you back to work more quickly when you have a "non urgent" but seriously disabling problem.

You may have missed the email, but teachers, nurses and medical doctors now carry student debt. Their training is no longer funded by the state.

Many who are working now were funded by the state.

Many younger teachers/nurses will not pay that debt back. The state picks up the cost. Nhs hospitals host student drs and run most training. There is a systemic cost to train that is not born by the individuals.

A bit late to the party on this one but totally get where you're coming from — the A&E situation lately is honestly terrifying. 😟 I was in a similar boat not long ago, wondering whether it was finally time to look into private health insurance.
If you're not sure where to start, I'd really recommend Compare My Health Insurance. They’re a comparison website, and offer a free broker introduction service where you can speak to someone. They’ll compare all the main insurers for you (like Bupa, Aviva, Vitality etc.) and explain what’s best for your situation — whether that’s a full policy or something more basic to skip NHS waiting lists.
It took a lot of the stress out of it for me — especially as I didn’t know what I actually needed or what to avoid! Good luck