Some private medical insurance providers are beginning to encourage their client’s employees to consider being treated in an NHS hospital rather than making full use of their private health insurance cover. Staff are being offered £200 a night to use the NHS for their treatment rather than going into a private hospital. The BBC is reported to be involved in such a scheme, although a spokesperson has denied it, because they have been inundated with senior staff who are claiming on their corporate health insurance policy for a stay in a private clinic that could cost up to £1,000 per night. Offering a cash incentive is one way in which companies like this are trying to cut costs on their private health cover. Another option for businesses is to compare other types of policy with their current one and considering swapping to a cheaper alternative. Cash plan private health insurance is one of the cheapest ways of providing this valued benefit to employees.


Private medical insurance providers, like Freedom Healthnet, have been recognising the importance of giving people the option to use the NHS if they wish for years. Cash plan policies in particular have found that the choice that people get from being given a cash lump sum to cover all or part of the cost of their treatment is an advantage. This means that people can choose whether they would prefer to be treated in a private hospital, in a clinic abroad or in an NHS centre if they so wish. This may be the most convenient option for some people if the hospital is closest to their home for example and then the policy holder can use the money to help cover other costs incurred as a result of the illness, such as having to take a day off work or travel costs.