tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15151073723928268052010-03-09T15:23:28.802ZA UK private health insurance news and information blog discussing the latest developments in the health and medical insurance (PMI) industry.Health Insurance UKnoreply@blogger.comBlogger214125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1515107372392826805.post-13940753095297390392010-03-09T15:21:00.001Z2010-03-09T15:23:28.936Z

Doctors have been adding their criticism to a controversial new NHS database that will hold digital patient records. The British Medical Association has now written a letter to the Health Secretary Andy Burnham to express their views on the proposed Summary Care Record System. The group says that while they agree to the ideas behind the new database, they are worried about certain aspects of it.

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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

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The rising numbers of people suffering from obesity in the UK could lead to an increase in the number of people getting a quote for private medical insurance. That’s according to the website quoteboffin.co.uk, who believe that the pressure of obesity related illnesses on the NHS will cause waiting lists to grow and persuade more people to find an alternative to staying in lengthy queues. A

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People may become reliant on private health insurance to gain access to homeopathy services if the latest recommendations for the government are carried out. A report from the science and technology parliamentary committee has advised that homeopathy should no longer be funded by the NHS. The government has recognised that there is no evidence that these sorts of treatments work and have been

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National waiting lists make no difference to the number of people who take out private medical insurance. That’s according to one study that investigated into the many factors that could encourage a person to seek private healthcare. Gavin Wallis, in his 2003 ‘The Determinants of Demand for Private Medical Insurance: Evidence from the British Household Panel Survey’ found that it was regional

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The numbers of people who may take out private medical insurance could significantly increase over the next few years if the patterns noted by one study are correct. Gavin Wallis, in his 2003 report ‘The Determinants of Demand for Private Medical Insurance: Evidence from the British Household Panel Survey’ found that when government spending on public health care increased around the turn of the

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Healthcare debates in the Commons are likely to step up a level after a new report has been published this month on the challenges facing the NHS. The research, which was carried out by the Economist Intelligence Unit, discusses the main issues facing the health service and makes recommendations for improvements. The NHS is already a major policy area for political parties, even more so as the

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Large business in the UK are still valuing the benefits of having private medical insurance for their staff but may be considering cutting down their level of cover to keep employees happy. Recession hit workers are having to pay the P11D tax on their benefits and those on lower incomes are finding this difficult. Rather than cancelling their cover altogether, many companies still want to keep

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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 “

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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

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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

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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

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