To spend £650 each month on health insurance?

[startingallover]

£650 pays out monthly to cover me, dh and our four children. We can't really afford it but we're making it a priority over other things. Dh wants us to cancel and says it's a waste of money. He says we could put some money in a pot and use it if we needed to pay for treatment. I know this wouldn't happen though as we have actually reduced our bill lately and have to pay £250 excess per year. Since then we are being far more careful. Cancer runs in my family and I do worry about getting ill. The peace of mind of being able to go in and get checked the same week is worth the sacrifices we make. But dh really wants me to cancel it. It's a big payment each week but I can't bring myself to ring up and cancel it. AIBU?

[TheFormidableMrsC]

ajandjjmum, yes I get you and indeed it was nice given the state of my poor Mum that she had some privacy. Fortunately she was able to die in her own bed in her own home. However, treatment wise, she would have been better off on the NHS.

[lovefairylights]

Having worked in both the insurance industry and also relatively recently actually for Bupa and other medical insurers, I would never purchase medical insurance. These companies are increasingly up against it financially to maintain their profit margins, so there is more use of excesses, limited lists of consultants who have agreed to their lower fee structures and the use of exclusions and research to ensure there haven't been any undisclosed pre-existing medical conditions - particularly related to mental health. So the service you may experience as a self payer for your insurance could be vastly different from your friends who are getting a gold standard service through their employer.
That said I would be still 'insuring' but doing self insurance. Put away a significant amount of money - but can be considerably less than you currently pay to Bupa and use it selectively when the NHS can't offer you what you want, e.g. long waiting times, or limited treatment.

[Anotherusername1]

For me, the issue isn't a referral on the NHS once you get to the GP, it's getting to see a GP in the first place and waiting for an appointment. It sounds like you have a sympathetic GP, how easy is it for you to get an appointment? I would probably spend some money on a private GP so that I can get a same-day appointment and therefore quick referral, assuming private GPs can refer you back to consultants on the NHS.

I have private healthcare through work - it costs about £700 a year, I pay the tax on it of course. I've claimed once, and was able to have a small op done when it suited me in a private hospital for uterine polyps. I don't know how easy it would have been to have such a procedure done on the NHS given that you have to avoid your period. It's hard enough trying to schedule a smear test for the right time.

[Anotherusername1]

Forgot to say in the post above - my point was you need to see a GP to make use of your private health insurance, they are the gatekeepers. So if it's hard to get an appointment, you're not a lot better off.

[startingallover]

Thanks everyone. I'm sorted. I'm joining April Health Care - it only includes Spire Hospitals but that's our usual one anyway. There will also be a couple of exclusions for me due to pre-existing conditions but nothing major. The great news is that it's going to be £199 monthly for me, dh and all four children. Hugely better than £650 with a £250 excess. Even dh thinks this is a good deal and wants me to go ahead instead of cancelling completely. Slightly worried that spire aren't really known for cancer care but hopefully they are. And I do agree with you all that this would probably be better under the NHS. Really relieved. Thanks for your help.

[rookiemere]

That's a much better deal starting and those premiums seem much more in line with what I was quoted when I was looking to leave work and getting private cover.

[weebarra]

I had my cancer care through spire and my oncologist was the same I had on the NHS.

[startingallover]

Thanks weebarra. Was you happy with your treatment via Spira at such a difficult time?

[weebarra]

Very happy. I had access to very good anti sickness drugs and a different chemo regime than I would have been able to access through the NHS. Radiotherapy needs to be done through the NHS as private hospitals don't have the machines, and if anything had gone wrong with my surgery I would have had to transfer to a NHS icu. But for chemo it was great.

[BurningBridges]

Brilliant result. Power of Mumsnet etc!

[startingallover]

Weebarra - so glad you're ok now. And yes, burning bridges - absolutely!!! It was rather unanimous so I had to do something. Haven't actually closed Bupa - will do that this week. We've had it for 20+ years so I am worried about letting this crutch go. But you've helped me see sense. Dh has already mentioned spending the extra on a family holiday. Thanks everyone. And thanks for being kind.

[YohY]

Private healthcare is good for routine straightforward ops with lie complication rates hence why cataract surgery for instance is booming business for ophthalmologists or was before they reduced how much they paid per cataract operation I think in 2012

[YohY]

Sorry with low complication rates

[YohY]

Also quick turnover ops that don't require hospital stays

More complicated and involved stuff is best kept in NHS boundaries, same surgeons anyway

[ManeEvent]

New cover sounds much more reasonable. Don't worry too much about the cancer treatment aspect.

IME private healthcare is what you need for minor and non-urgent treatment, NOT critical or life threatening conditions where the NHS comes into its own.

Last year my DF had to have an emergency quadruple heart bypass with private cover,(was done with private cover, yet was in an NHS hospital as they needed the cardiac intensive care facilities a private hospital didn't have- they just weren't up to it)

Similarly my DM had an innovative stem cell treatment and again her private cover wasn't any real use- got her a private room 2 feet from the rest of the ward and that was about it, again too complex for private hospital

I can't afford private cover and really struggled last year waiting to get to the top of the gallbladder removal waiting list as couldn't afford the cost of the surgery privately- for things like this it would be great, but then the cost of the op would have been less than 5K, (which I'm guessing wouldn't be such a stretch for you as me, judging by what you have been paying)

(My brother is a GP and he says Bupa are for tonsil removal and cateracts only)

[startingallover]

Manevent - hope you're fighting fit now - sorry you had to wait so long. May I ask why your brother says that about Bupa? Do you know?

[Topseyt]

Well done OP. Good decision I would say.

Now save up for that family holiday and build some lovely memories with your children. I am with your DH there too. Those memories are priceless.

[LittleLionMansMummy]

Good result op, well done and I totally understand your anxiety around cancer.

Personally I wouldn't choose to pay to go private because I believe our NHS is absolutely fantastic for treating emergencies and life threatening illness. Fil went for a well man check and was diagnosed with bladder cancer last April on the NHS. He was operated on in May and goes back every month for a chemo flush. The cancer is gone and they're now preventing it coming back. Mil got breast cancer some years ago and is likewise now cancer free and the NHS also did the complicated reconstructive survey for her. They both have nothing but praise for the NHS.

But getting to see a GP in the first place is a particular bug bear for me!

[notenoughbottle]

I can understand you're anxiety surrounding cancer too. My ddad was diagnosed just before Xmas with cancer and almost five weeks to the day yesterday he has had his cancer removed and a successful bowel resection done all on the NHS. Yes a wait was frustrating but in reality this was nothing and my dad is receiving the best of care. On the other hand we paid privately for my ds to be assessed privately by an SLT and EP before Xmas as this was one area that the NHS was failing in for is. Yes private healthcare can be reassuring but I think you've come to a good conclusion OP.

[Samantha28]

That's a great result OP. But I'd urge to get some help for your health anxiety too .

What are you going to do with the money that you will save on your insurance premiums ?

I still think that you and your Dh have very different attitudes towards money, saving and spending . It might be worth trying to discuss these now, and not waiting until there is a decision that needs to be made and it becomes a crisis.

[TheFormidableMrsC]

This is a really good result, well done OP! I would also recommend getting some help for your health anxiety...I too suffer from that and I am constantly trying to keep a lid on it. I know how difficult that can be. Really glad you're going to have a holiday!

[tiggerkid]

It's an incredible amount to pay for health insurance per month but whether it's unreasonable depends on what that insurance covers and the likelihood of you needing to use it. To be honest, I've not really heard about many people in the UK choosing to pay that amount of money for PMI. Mostly, as others have already pointed out, because of the availability of NHS. However as I've already mentioned it all very much depends on what your insurance covers, your age, claims history and the likelihood of having to claim again.

If the likelihood of your entire family having to claim for some very serious conditions is very high, then I would probably understand why you want to pay for it. Some NHS trusts provide a really bad service and waiting lists alone can kill you!

[Badders123]

Hi, op.
I haven't read the full thread but wanted to give you my experiences.
I have been treated as both an NHS and private patient and I have to say, for treatment the NHS wins hands down every time.
Where the private sector is better is at being seen quickly...I am covered by Dhs work bupa cover for this and have used it a few times for gynae referrals etc.
I had an op 2 years ago and whilst the op was fine the aftercare was dire.
It simply didn't exist. When I rang the private hospital about complications I was told to go to a and e!
This is very common.
So...if I were you I would put some money an account each month...whether £100/200 to cover any future private consultations but would always get procedures done on the NHS.
Good luck.

[PurpleCrazyHorse]

Having worked in the NHS, you want private treatment for routine ops that the NHS don't have theatre time for as they're needed for cancer ops in order to meet cancer targets. In our Trust we had weekly meetings with top brass where we went through every patient on our suspected cancer pathway, pushed for diagnostic tests, results, got more theatre time etc. All to ensure our suspected cancer patients were seen within targets. With limited theatre time available, those patients got priority and so the waits for other operations especially routine, non-urgent things was long.

I'd therefore consider reducing your cover to include only the routine inpatient things or indeed just pay for a private initial consultation and switch to NHS for diagnostics/treatment. Lots of private consultants also work in the NHS so you could still see the same one for follow up. We would see this a fair bit.

I agree that private hospitals often aren't the best place for big operations, especially if they don't have an intensive care unit. The NHS is 24/7, so having a complication late on a Friday night doesn't mean there's no-one there, there's always on-call cover for emergencies. That might not be true for your local BUPA hospital.

I was looking at family BUPA cover and for us (DH had a non-cancerous mole removed 6 years ago) it was £150/month including two children. I think you're paying way over the odds.

[PurpleCrazyHorse]

Sorry, missed your update OP. If you're not ready to get rid of the crutch, definitely reduce the cover.