Private Health Insurance .. what a bloody rip off .. GRRRR :(

[twiglett]

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I have an autoimmune condition and have had two kidney transplants as a result.Private health care is useless in serious conditions as private hospitals dont have specialists on tap to deal with conditions that they rarely see.My renal consultant is the same consultant as bupa uses and if you need surgery it is the same surgeon .Many patients at my renal clinic were originally private,I have been told that having insurance would have delayed my treatment rather than speeded it up!Hope you get sorted soon.Has your dh ever been on cyclosporin?

Write to watchdog - they did a thing about stuff like this last week and ended up winning for two women.

Come on Consumer Champions of the BEEB!!

It is true that private healthcare doesn't cover chronic illness, only acute or relatively acute. I have Crohn's and was covered for diagnosis and initial treatment.

To be honest the NHS has been so good with the management of it I wouldn't have it any other way. I think that private healthcare does do it's job well, at the beginning of an illness or condition it provides for quick diagnosis without having to hang around for 6 months for an NHS appointment. Once the condition is diagnosed and treatment stabilised then they hand over to the NHS who are there for that sort of care.

If they continued to pay for lifetime treatment of chronic illnesses, could you imagine what the premiums would be? We would end up in a situation like they have in the US where people are stuck in jobs they hate because they don't want to give up their substantial healthcare benefits.

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But surely these appointments are also available on the NHS? Very often you can see the same doctor (I did).

I just don't want to end up with a system like they have in the US. I think that the NHS is fine for ongoing treatment. The insurance is still in place for any other conditions that (god forbid) he may be diagnosed with.

Twiglett I'm sure you will be OK - I agree with CD that ongoing management of chronic conditions is perfectly good on the NHS, the real benefit of the private insurance is in getting over that first hurdle of the waiting lists to see a consultant. As your dh is still in the middle of finding an effective course of management I'm sure they won't pull the rug out from under him - and I'm sure you won't let them (there are times when being pregnant and hormonal has it's advantages) Good luck

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Twiglett - you should be able to go private to see the consultant initially, then transfer to same consultant under the NHS, with the same schedule of ongoing appointments.

Yes, speak to your dh's doctor (call his sec and leave a msg) and ask him whether he has an NHS practice. Then get a referral from your doctor and as he has already seen you he will bump you up the list.

This happened with me and my gynae, saw him privately then transferred to NHS and only had a 3 week wait (as opposed to a 6 months wait from new referral)

sorry, just noticed last bit of your post - yes waiting lists are long, but only for initial appointments.

For eg with my Crohn's I can call any time if I am feeling bad, speak to my Doc's NHS secretary and she always, without fail, fits me in within a week. Sometimes means I have to hang around a bit but is fine. You just have to get to know the right people. Discuss with your Doc.

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