How does private healthcare

[raysmama24]

Sorry if this is a silly thread but I was looking into private health insurance and have no idea how it works??

Is having the insurance itself the same as having private healthcare and how does it work? For example if I got bupa health insurance and needed a doctors appointment would I go to a bupa building? Would I pay extra? Would I have treatments at these buildings?

Health insurance pays for treatment and diagnostics at private hospitals and facilities.

We have Bupa - in order to get treatment the vast majority of the time you need to go through your NHS GP first and ask for a referral. Then you contact them, they process this and (hopefully) authorise the treatment, consultation or whatever it may be. You can have treatment at any private hospital of your choice, as long as the clinician and hospital are registered with Bupa. You don’t attend a ‘Bupa building’.

At times you may need to pay extra if there is a specific consultant you want to see who charges more than Bupa will pay. It’s never a huge amount though - for us it was only £20

Your insurer has a network of drs they work with. These are generally nhs drs who do private work and there is a wide selection.
They work in various practices. Bmi hospitals, harley street, portland hospital... can be anywhere...

Eg i needed a cardiologist there were dozens in london to choose from - many top of their field. Most of these work in 2-4 different clinics in diff areas depending on the day of week.

Making a claim
So i have concerns about X.
I go to my gp (regular or private - i use private as its faster) and say id like a referral letter.
I then find my preferred dr who is in network (using insurers website) and call up to find out if they can give me a timely appointment. If yes, i phone my insurer and open a claim providing a copy of the referral letter.
Insurer gives me a code which i email to drs PA so you dont need to pay for the appointment.
I go the consultation and then the dr and i liaise with the private insurer. Insurer approves any next steps eg MRI echos surgery etc before you do them and settles the bill.

Sometine there can be an excess. My policy is very comprehensive so never had it happen.

If you can afford it i really rate it.
Today i had concerns about my DS and decided i wanted it looked at around midday/lunchtime. Between then and 6pm... I had a virtual GP appointment, refferal written, approval of claim and made an appointment to see a specialist paediatric consultant 2 miles from my home on Monday next week.
On the nhs this would take weeks...

I don't use it often but it is so good. I'm with Aviva through work. I currently have a huge cyst on my eyelid. NHS don't remove them anymore. I went to my GP, got a private referral, notified my insurer who advised a consultant to make an appt with. Booked in to see the consultant in under 2 weeks at a beautiful private hospital (free parking, lots of spaces, free hot drinks). The consultant recommended minor surgery, I get authorisation from insurer to book it directly with consultant. The bills go to insurer, I pay an excess of £250. It's just so quick, the staff at the hospital seem so much more happier, it felt like the consultant had time to chat through everything.

It’s so refreshing, isn’t it? I always feel that at private hospitals I get treated as an individual whilst in the NHS I’m merely a number that they can’t get out the door quick enough

DD sees the exact same consultant both privately and on the NHS - it is a completely different experience in each setting, so much more relaxed and no rushed conversations privately, you can actually have a proper conversation which in my opinion is a massive injustice to NHS patients

I also have a bupa health cash plan with work, they pay £24pm for me. I get annual allowances to reclaim on health charges eg £200 dental, £200 optical, £45 prescriptions, £500 chiropodist/ chiropractic / acupuncture therapy. Some other charges like hospital stays.
This has been really worthwhile.

@LaWench hi I’m also trying to figure out how it works do you pay an excess of £250 for each procedure ? Why do you have to pay £250 . I thought one paid monthly and everything’s covered in that . Do you have comprehsive insurance policy ?

@watermelonsugarmum My insurance policy has an excess payable of £250 per person per year. So for any treatment in a fixed 12m period, I have to pay for the first £250. Nothing again until the 12m period is up.