To ask if you think BUPA is worth it?

[idontknowwhattosay23]

And any examples, good or bad, of your experience with them please, if you have time to share.

I'm a single mother with two small children and although I'm working and comfortable-ish (COL is biting at my heels a bit) but it would still be an extra cost.

I've been prompted by a thread on here actually, by an amazing woman who has been diagnosed with cancer. The NHS waiting times and doctors she saw were shocking, but luckily she had BUPA and within a couple of days was in a top London hospital and is receiving top quality care. It really concerned and disappointed me that she was initially in receipt of such poor care and prompted me to look into Bupa. I've tried to do due diligence and carefully looked through the policy benefits and terms but real life examples are much appreciated.

I suppose the AIBU is would I be unreasonable to take out Bupa cover, have you been disappointed with it?

Many thanks everyone.

We’ve paid for Bupa ‘as you go’ and all you really benefit from is quicker appointments and a less volatile class of clientele in the waiting room. The doctors and treatment is more or less the same rag tag randoms you’ll get in your local NHS hospital.

I do really rate private medical Insurance, but I think as a personal person embarking on an insurance product the costs can quickly become very high year on year- inflation and Insurance rates increase year on year

It's worth seeing if your employer offers anything as part of their employee benefits scheme you can sign up for (but sometimes it's reserved for a cohort of staff at a certain level)

As soon as you make a claim your premiums will increase next renewal and they often Increase year on year anyway

If your keen though speak to a broker who can look at whole of market not just Bupa and find you a fit that is within your budget

Alternatively look at what you can afford to pay and set it in a savings should you need it

I have used my private medical insurance and so has DH much more than me for a number of orthopaedic operations but we get it through our employer

Also remember you pay more to have access to top London hospitals

I do think the NHS is wonderful and I have received nothing but the best care.

However I had a funny turn a few years ago, and using BUPA I was diagnosed with MS about 3 months before my follow up NHS appointment with a neurologist (BUPA 2x MRI's, F2F with top neurologist), in total 4 months from start to finish but needed a 3 month gap between scans. Diagnosis takes about 2 years on the NHS on average. I have now completed a treatment course and feeling great.

I had counselling on BUPA to deal with the diagnosis, started the following week.

My most recent NHS MRI (April) whist good from an MS point of view showed A cyst in my jaw, which the NHS can't see me before November to discuss, so going through BUPA again, I have my referral and expect to be seen the same week.

I do think it's a great service, even at the price

Really very good points from everyone, thank you so much for sharing.

@SamSaid I find your experience the most telling as you have really been in the thick of it so to speak. I'm sorry to read about your MD diagnosis that must have been quite the blow, but delighted you had such quick care and followed with support too, that is wonderful.

The cover I'm looking at is the comprehensive one and comes in about £42 a month for myself and both children. I know the premiums rise each year but I think I have confused myself with their no claims discount, if anyone can clarify that point that would be fabulous,

I had BUPA private healthcare when I was with my previous company and it was excellent. I never used it myself buy my DH went through two separate lots of cancer and the speed of service and quality of care was just brilliant. He also used it to get treatment for a back problem previously.

No private healthcare now and DH is going through his third lot of cancer (terminal this time) and the difference with having NHS care is noticeable. Although the doctors and nurses have been excellent, the time it's taken to get any scans done has been a lot slower. Also just trying to sort things like having certain injections done at our local GP instead of having to traipse all the way to the hospital is taking forever.

I'll add, I'm having some health issues myself at the moment. Although an initial X-ray was quick, it took a further 5 months to get seen by a specialist and now a three month wait for a CT scan. If I still had BUPA I don't doubt I'd have finished treatment by now.

As a single mother of 6 at 40, I regarded this as totally necessary as I was the sole financial support and to have to wait for any necessary treatment that might have used up my full pay allowance for illness would have caused us to lose our home etc. It gave me so much more peace of mind. Anyway, I didn’t need to use it until age 54 when the NHS basically told me to live with a huge fibroid that caused lots of pain and flooding through my clothes every month even with tampons and the heaviest pads together. From Bupa appointment to a total hysterectomy took 3 weeks. Date to suit me. Lovely private room with en-suite and delicious food and on call tea and toast etc. Consultant spent lots of time with me before and after the op. Follow up care to suit me. As a 58 year old smoker, with that op as a previous claim, my premium is still only £100 per month. After the claim it went up about 10%, but I calculated that my total outlay until then just about evened out what I had paid in premiums v paying for it myself. Plus I can access a GP or mental health support at any time to suit me with no impact on premiums. I can’t recommend it highly enough.

One of the benefits I can choose through work salary sacrifice is BUPA. I'm 56 and chose the pre existing conditions policy. I added on teen DD and it cost me £123 per month. I've used it loads for therapy for DD, back treatment for myself and am using it for a hip replacement later this year. I have to pay £100 excess for each condition I see them about but I think it's worth it .

These responses are marvellous and have made up my mind 100%. With the NHS waiting times coupled with needing my health taken care of a single parent its absolutely swayed me. Thanks so much for everyone who took time to share their experience I massively appreciate it.

Slightly biased but 100% yes.

Save a close relative's life because they had a scan within days that on the NHS would have probably been months and past the point of death.

There's an element of gambling about it because you may never need it but if you do, you've never spend such good money in your life.

It is cheaper the younger you are and adding children typically costs very little as in practice they do not need to claim or the NHS care is all that is available for pediatrics.

The no claims discount means that if you claim, it decreases on a sliding scale. You start at 65% discount and the maximum is 70%, if you don't claim. You'll get an explanation in your documents with the table of scales.

For me, private medical insurance is worth every penny. A few years back, after frankly abysmal care from the NHS (for practically the only time I've ever needed it), I was admitted to a private hospital which, ultimately, saved my life.

I wouldn't be without insurance now. In fact, I'd happily pay double into a private healthcare plan than pay anything into an NHS that isn't there when I need it.

I’ve used Bupa and AXA but through work. I had used a personal Bupa policy previously. You should definitely get private medical insurance if you can afford it. It is worth every penny.

The only thing I would say, is that corporate policies seem to be much better than the personal ones because they generally have higher limits. I also found AXA a bit better than Bupa, but that may be down to the level of cover the employers chose.

Work pays for mine so its not a big personal cost.

There are different levels - mine allows my university age kids to be covered.

I don't use it much but back in the 90s when I needed a knee operation it was private GP on the Monday, Harley St clonsultant on the Weds and could have had the op on the Friday but left it for a week

Emergencies though its the NHS

You revive the same care private as you do NHS. If your GP suspects Cancer, you are referred under the 2 week pathway regardless.

My dad was took to hospital with chest pains a few weeks ago, and by the end of that day, he had scans, MRI, bloods, X-Rays done. Was diagnosed with Lung Cancer then given dates for further scans etc. The care he received under The NHS was amazing, I cannot fault them. So no I do not always think Bupa is worth it.

Receive not revive, predictive text 🫣!

Having had a close friend who was fairly recently diagnosed (stem cell transplant massive doses of chemo etc) I don't think private cover lets you jump the queue for cancer treatment. One thing he did say was that when he went for treatment during the lockdowns that the centre was very empty making me wonder how many people went untreated or undiagnosed during that period

Private helps best for treatment of what the NHS would deem non-emergency

Sending best wishes and all the luck in the world to your dad, and strength to you. I know how heavy the illness of a loved one weighs on the close family, remember to take care of yourself in all this xx

Am in Ireland and am with Laya (Bupa) since I was a teenager. I’ll be honest, health insurance gets my back up, we worked out have paid 35000 euro in and it’s probably given back at most a few thousand. When col hit we lowered our cover and it turned out now it doesn’t cover the only scan I needed and so have been on the public waiting list a year and a half now. The reason we keep it is when my dad was dying it was invaluable to him, he had scans he wouldn’t have been able to wait for, operations- and they were amazing, no hold ups so two different povs there!

I don't know how to link the thread, but if you search for Pamela bile duct cancer here, you'll see 5 threads now detailing her journey. The difference in care she's received Bupa vs NHS is shocking, the NHS essentially told her very very little and sent her "home to die" as she felt. A few days later she is in London, had many scans, a surgery and started her first chemo. Back home she wouldn't have even got her follow up appointment yet. Which I think is just terrifying. I suppose it's struck a nerve because she happens to live just a few miles down the road from me and sadly the health care here at the moment is diabolical.

I never thought cancer pathways would differ dependent on nhs or private but Pamela's situation has shattered that for me. In fact the Bupa care I've just taken out has specific cancer cover.

Gosh you've really experienced both sides of it. I suppose it's something you take out praying you never have to use. Insurance in general is terribly annoying in that regard I suppose. I'm sorry to hear about your scan 😩

Ah thanks, lucky in that way that the reason we haven’t gained from it is we haven’t been misfortune health wise so long may it continue!! Yes, hopefully the scan comes through soon, my friend got it the week after she needed it with similar symptoms to me, I never told her I was turned down and still haven’t had it!!

If you are outside if London there are no specialist hospitals for children. Many private hospitals will have very few, if any, services for those under 18.
When we have needed to use it for the children we have needed to travel into London.

If cost was an issue I would consider just having it for yourself because NHS children’s services are usually very good anyway.
Comprehensive cover is expensive but is what you really want. Just having you on the policy might cost the same as lesser tier family cover but would be more worthwhile.

Yes it has really been worth it for us. Just one example - my son presented with a waiter’s hand at 6 months when he started to sit. The NHS GP told us to watch and wait and it will sort itself out in time. I was totally dismissed.

I wasn’t prepared to accept that following a similar approach to a problem I had, that could, in the end, not be sorted (epidural injury).This has resulted in neurological fallout to my foot.

Anyway, with insurance we saw a paediatrician at St John and Lizzies, a neurologist, diagnosed with neuropraxia of the brachial plexus and extended physio. Who knows what the function of his arm and hand would have been without all of that.