The number of people going through privately funded medical treatment has fallen by 4 percent over the past decade – but it’s not because of any drop in the number of people with private health insurance. Research carried out by Laing and Buisson found that since Labour came to power in 1997, the privately funded share of scheduled surgery has decreased from 14.6 percent to 10.6 percent. But it is the people who opt to pay directly for their treatment – “self-payers” – who have started to consider the NHS for their healthcare needs rather than people with health insurance, particularly since the recession has kicked in since 2007. Laing and Buisson’s Chief Executive, William Laing, told the Guardian, "This remarkable reduction in the privately funded share of elective surgery is not because private healthcare is in decline. It is true that an improved NHS service coupled with recession has taken a heavy toll on demand from 'self-payers' without medical insurance cover. But private medical insurance remains robust.”


The NHS has become a more attractive option for those people that suddenly found themselves unable to afford to pay for private healthcare. The massive cash injections from the government have meant that NHS funded operations in private hospitals have grown enormously. In fact the NHS now makes up 16 percent of all operations in private hospitals, compared to six percent in 1997. For those people that still wish to have access to private health care however, having a private health insurance policy is a much more affordable way than self-paying.