The NHS celebrated its 60th birthday last year and has long been celebrated as a successful healthcare system, widely respected by other countries across the world, especially those that can’t or don’t provide free healthcare to their people. So why should people in the UK consider private health insurance then? The fact is that 7 million people in the UK are now covered by some level of private medical insurance, may be caused by the fact that the NHS sometimes struggles to meet with demand particularly because of increased pressure from government targets. The answer for many people is to turn to the alternative.


Private health insurance allows its customers to have access to hospitals with a lower rate of superbugs like MRSA, and have facilities with the latest technology that some NHS hospitals cannot afford to provide. But they have their limitations in that emergency treatment is something they don’t have facilities for and this is where the NHS has a strong position. The ideal situation is for private medical insurance to supplement the work of the NHS which is where cash plan private medical insurance is the perfect option. It gives policy holders the option as to whether they would like to be treated in a NHS or private hospital, or even if they would like to travel abroad for their healthcare. The money they receive to help towards the cost of the treatment can then be used for travel expenses or to cover the cost of time lost off work if the patient chooses to be treated in an NHS hospital.