Private Health & Medical Insurance Information

Complaints about NHS GPs rocket

2010-02-08T12:58:00.001Z

Complaints from patients about NHS GPs have rocketed in the past year. Nearly 40,000 people weren’t happy with the service in the last 12 months, which is an increase of 12 percent. The rise in the number of complaints has coincided with the controversial change in out of hours care brought about back in 2004 which has come under fire a number of times since. The changes meant that Primary Care

More employers reaping the benefits of PMI

2010-02-03T09:00:00.000Z

Cash plan private medical insurance has been taken up by increasing numbers of employers. In 2006, corporate health insurance accounted for 8 percent of the market, but in 2008 this had risen to 13 percent according to Mintel. A report by Laing and Buisson found that the number of cash plans provided by companies increased 29 percent in 2008, bringing the total to 378,000. Stephen Duff, deputy

Does private healthcare have answers for NHS?

2010-02-01T12:38:00.001Z

The private healthcare sector could help to solve the debate of how to deal with the NHS, says the group chief executive at one of the UK’s biggest health insurance providers. Speaking at the Conservative Manifesto Conference, head of AXA UK Nicolas Moreau, said, “Preserving and protecting the NHS should be at the forefront of Government policy but this comes at a cost. A future government will

Physiotherapy waits over 18 weeks in some NHS Trusts

2010-01-27T22:02:00.001Z

Back pain sufferers and other patients with musculoskeletal complaints may be persuaded to take out a quote for private health insurance after it was revealed that over half of patients have to wait over six weeks for physiotherapy on the NHS. An investigation carried out by Health Insurance and Protection magazine has found that only forty percent of the 126 out of 152 primary care trusts that

Swap PMI to up satisfaction

2010-01-26T15:46:00.001Z

Many companies in the United States are becoming less satisfied with their private health insurance providers, according to one of the latest surveys. PricewaterhouseCoopers have found that the recession has caused many American companies to look again at the private health cover they are offering for their employees. The two main things that bosses said they would like to see improve is better

Upset for Obama's healthcare bill

2010-01-20T15:26:00.001Z

President Barack Obama’s plan to introduce an NHS-style healthcare system across the United Stated has taken a potentially serious setback today as the Democrats lost their control over Massachusetts. The state has been a Democrat stronghold since 1972, meaning that Scott Brown will be the first Republican senator there for over thirty five years. It is thought that Obama’s healthcare bill is one

Out of hours care back to GPs?

2010-01-19T16:14:00.001Z

GP’s working hours could come back into debate once again in the House of Commons if the Conservatives get elected at the general election later this year. Shadow Health Spokesman, Andrew Lansley has said this week that the Conservative party will look to change rules brought in six years ago which meant GPs were no longer in control of out of hours care. It meant that Primary Care Trusts were

Effects of alcohol on businesses

2010-01-13T11:22:00.001Z

The effects of alcohol abuse are hitting the workplace hard, so much so that a government committee has now made recommendations including introducing a minimum pricing scheme. The advice from the parliamentary health committee, if taken up, would mean that the government would set a minimum price for a unit of alcohol and could cause the cost of many drinks to increase. It’s a controversial idea

Scrapping retirement age could boost costs for businesses

2010-01-12T20:33:00.001Z

As the government looks increasingly likely to get rid of the default retirement age for workers in the UK, it’s not only the ageing population that are beginning to worry about the implications. It is thought that four in ten will have to work six years longer than they originally hoped to because of an increasing pension deficit across the country. That’s according to research carried out by

Striking the sick day balance

2010-01-06T14:12:00.000Z

The majority of the working population will be going back to work this week after the Christmas break, or are supposed to be at least. January is the worst month for people taking sick leave and according to some studies, between fifteen and thirty percent of those are not actually ill. Losing staff off to sickness is a huge cost to businesses in the UK, the CBI believes it could be up to £13.2

Avoid mistakes when buying PMI

2010-01-05T09:00:00.000Z

Getting a quote for private medical insurance is now a very easy process, heightened greatly by the internet. But if you are not entirely sure what you are looking for, you could end up with a policy that is not as suited to your needs as another one might be. Increasing numbers of people in the UK are now taking out private medical insurance but there are still a large number of people for whom

The future test for the NHS

2009-12-23T09:00:00.000Z

It is predicted that life expectancy will increase in the next decade to over 80 or 90. However, long term chronic conditions are also likely to rise. To ease this burden on the NHS, doctors believe that we all need to change our attitude to health. Although life expectancy is increasing, it does not necessarily mean that it will lead to extra years of healthy life. It is likely that we will

NHS benefits from private patients

2009-12-22T21:35:00.001Z

Private health insurance policy holders may not be making the most of their cover by continuing to use the NHS. GP’s may now be encouraged to offer their patients a private referral because those who are privately covered are said to be taking up places in NHS clinics that could otherwise be used to treat those people who do not wish or cannot afford to pay for their care. At the moment, doctors

Superbrands could increase the private healthcare market

2009-12-21T09:00:00.000Z

Consumer superbrands have the power to attract consumers to the private medical insurance market, a research paper by PA Consulting has identified. Companies such as Boots and Virgin can attract clients to their stores and offer healthcare to NHS funded patients, private patients covered by health insurance and self-pay patients.This trend, currently offered in the US has led to an influx of “

Self examine to stop breast cancer developing

2009-12-18T09:00:00.000Z

44,000 women and around 300 men are diagnosed with breast cancer every year in the UK alone. Furthermore there are currently around 172,000 currently living with the disease. Together with these large numbers there are also large amounts of research being carried out in the cause, detection and treatment of breast cancer. Research by Dr Paul Pharoah in 2008 aims to reduce developing the cancer by

Two tier health service "inevitable"

2009-12-16T09:00:00.001Z

A member of one of the UK’s top health insurance trade associations says that a two tier health system is becoming inevitable due to some of the decisions made by the NHS. Mike Izzard, from the Association of Medical Insurance Intermediaries, told the Private Healthcare UK website, that the recommendations made to the NHS by NICE (National Institute for Clinical Excellence) about which drugs are

American businesses struggling with premiums

2009-12-15T13:11:00.000Z

Small businesses in parts of America are having to cut back or cancel their employee health insurance because of rising premiums. Many companies are struggling at the moment anyway because of the recession and are looking to cut costs in every area of their expenditure. Private health insurance for staff is just one area that is not vital for the running of the company has been under debate for

Private medical insurance helps to recruit

2009-12-14T09:00:00.000Z

Private medical insurance had a significant impact in helping employers attract new recruits last year. In a survey conducted in 2008 of 211 employers with a workforce of 675,000 people 68% of employers have highlighted private health insurance to be a useful in recruitment. Furthermore 63% agreed it improved employee motivation.With a cost to employers of over £1 billion each year, four in ten

Keep within your BMI guidelines to avoid cancer

2009-12-11T09:00:00.000Z

The best ways to prevent cancer are similar to those to prevent obesity and heart disease.A third of cancers are caused by smoking, a third by poor food and a lack of exercise and the other third by a mixture of other causes including genetic predisposition. A six year research analysing cancer risks show how to reduce this risk (excluding smoking). Some are unsurprising, including physical

Bupa increases profit despite drop in customers

2009-12-09T09:00:00.000Z

The UK’s biggest private medical insurance provider, Bupa, has recorded profits for the first half of 2009 despite the fact that the number of people covered by one of their policies has fallen. The net PMI policies for the company had dropped by three percent from the beginning of the year, but profits in the UK and North America had grown by just over one percent. This pattern has occurred

Healthcare models - the Ukraine

2009-12-07T15:10:00.001Z