Why take out Private Medical Insurance?

April 6th, 2011

With the increased media interest in health and the NHS, why are more people turning to private medical insurance?

The latest NHS reforms dominate the news at the moment with the general public finally being consulted on their view about competition with private health services, budget control and healthcare.  The NHS in turmoil naturally leads people to question the effectiveness of their current service and, indeed, their future health provision.

Previously to that, the problems with superbugs in hospitals, waiting times, mixed wards, the constant cost-cutting and closure of wards and hospitals, etc. were major causes of concern.

The NHS is an excellent health service and we are very lucky to have this in the UK.  However, for non-urgent procedures patients can be waiting months for treatment.  This can mean a poor quality of life in the interim; it can mean long term absence from work; it can mean a drop in income to SSP after a certain period of time; it can perhaps put jobs in jeopardy as employers seek to make cost reductions through redundancies.  For self-employed people or sole traders, it is even more worrying.  People cannot afford not to work during a recession.

For many people in these difficult times, it is necessary to think about protecting their source of income through protecting their health.  Naturally, a healthy lifestyle is the first priority.  Private health insurance also helps.  Medical cover can help you to get back to work more quickly and it might cost much less than you think.

Imagine being told you have to have an operation but the waiting time was 10 weeks or 18 weeks?  How would that impact upon your life?  Your family’s life? Your working life?  Health insurance cover would ensure that you would be able to have your operation at a time of your choosing helping you to resume normal working and family life.  Some medical insurance policies will also cover rehabilitation costs, if needed and therapies.

When you are looking to take out private medical insurance, you have two main choices:  cashplan or comprehensive health insurance.  The cashplan policy will pay out a cash lump sum upon approval of inpatient claim.  You then can choose to get treated in a private hospital of your choice as a self pay patient or you can wait on the NHS and keep the money.

The other option is traditional, comprehensive private health insurance which covers you for treatment in the hospitals on your selected list and for the level of cover you select.  Payment is made directly by the insurer to the treatment centre.  You can select the basic hospital list which covers regional and some London hospitals; the London list which also covers hospitals like the Portland and the Harley Street Clinic; or the London Premier which includes the Cromwell and a couple of other top London hospitals.  Cover can include additional options such as dental, optical and private GP cover.  You can select full outpatient cover and choose levels of other cover options.  Cancer cover with many health insurers such as Freedom Healthnet is standard with basic levels of cover.  Cancer insurance care is subject to cancer guidelines.

Private health insurance costs less than you think:  a typical 30 year old non smoker could pay 50p per day on a cashplan policy and £1 a day for comprehensive private health insurance cover.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Private Health Insurance, Private Medical Insurance | 1 Comment »

Why take out Private Health Insurance?

April 5th, 2011

Private medical insurance is one way for people to avoid the waiting lists of the NHS.  PMI helps them to be treated in a place and time that is most convenient to them.

Waiting lists is currently one of the main reasons for people to take out a private health insurance policy and concern about superbugs is another.  With the recession and tight household budgets, some people have begun to question the relevance of having private health cover.

Despite the NHS clamping down on waiting times, as previously reported, the NHS has classed a number of procedures as non-urgent. These treatments tend to have longer waiting lists as a result, and although they are not life threatening, the procedures such as cataract operations can make a big difference to the condition of a person’s life. This might mean that people would prefer to still have private health insurance to be treated in an even shorter time. These sorts of conditions can also keep people off work for lengthy periods, so employers could still be attracted to medical cover for their staff to help get them back to work as quick as possible, rather than having them wait for NHS care. The proposed reforms of the NHS are another concern.   Private health insurance is a good guarantee that a patient will be treated in the shortest possible time span and, despite the recession people are taking up this valuable cover.

Find out more about #NHS reforms.

Tags: ,
Posted in NHS, Private Health Insurance | No Comments »

NHS Against Private Healthcare

March 29th, 2011

Some NHS health managers are against plans to create competition in the NHS and use private healthcare, the BBC reports.

The government is looking into nearly half of local NHS Trusts as moves are made by the bodies to make it more difficult for patients to select private hospitals and private healthcare for their operations.

Non-emergency operations, such as hip operations, can be carried out in private hospitals where the NHS Trust has arrangements in place.  But currently only 3.5% of non emergency operations are undertaken in private facilities. With the NHS reforms, this number is due to increase.

Some NHS Trusts have recently been restricting the number of operations that can be done in private facilities and putting an upper limit on the number of people that can be treated in private hospitals.  There is also the ploy to introduce minimum waiting times for access to treatment.  This means that although private healthcare can usually be accessed more quickly, this benefit is removed as the patients are forced to wait a minimum time for treatment and can often then be treated on the NHS anyway.

There are indications that nearly half of the 151 primary care trusts are using these kinds of tactics to help reduce or prevent NHS patients from gaining access to private hospitals and healthcare.  At the heart of this issue is the fact that health trusts are trying to protect and maintain NHS hospitals.

Find out more about #NHSreforms or about private healthcare insurance.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in NHS, Private Health Insurance, private healthcare | 2 Comments »

What to consider when buying Private Health Insurance?

March 22nd, 2011

It is easy to get a quote for private health insurance, especially online.  But if you are not entirely sure what you are looking for, you could end up with a policy that does not fit your requirements. The ABI indicates that increasing numbers of people in the UK are now taking out private health cover.  But there is still a large number of people for who PMI is a new idea that has is now accessible to them because insurers, such as Freedom Healthnet, are creating quality policies but cost-wise it is cheap health insurance.  An example of this would be cash plan policies. A typical 30 year old might expect to pay only 4p a day for good, basic cover.  Cash plan policies are affordable and cover from £30,000 to £100,000 or even no annual benefit limit of inpatient medical cover per year. With cashplan policies, the policyholder can use the cash payout to arrange a self-pay package in a hospital of their choice.  If they shop around and compare prices at the different local private hospitals, they may find that there is a surplus amount, after settling the treatment bill, which they can keep.  Alternatively, they can choose to wait for treatment on the NHS and keep all of the money, tax free.

For other people, they may have been covered by one company for a number of years and have only just considered swapping to another health insurance company. It is no wonder that people make mistakes and end up taking out a policy that is not completely relevant or costs them more than necessary.  It is always possible to speak to an advisor and discuss your requirements on 0800 999 2013 or compare health insurances online.

The most common mistakes that people make are because they don’t really know what they want from a medical insurance.  It is important to consider:  what level of cover you need; what your priorities are; do you want to ensure you have cancer cover or alternative therapies, for instance.

It is best to research the different types of cover that a company offers before you even think about alongside the process of getting quotes.  This will help you to decide what you can afford and what are essentials and what is a nice extra but not necessarily right for you.   You have several options:  go to each insurer’s website; go to a broker website such as health insurance broker Healthnet Services or call one of Freedom Healthnet’s advisors and get a quote for Freedom policies (cashplan or comprehensive) and ask for a ‘market comparison’.  The advisor will then search all of the health insurance companies and give you comparison quotes whilst you wait (or email you if you prefer).  And they will be able to help you decide the level of cover you need and give you ways to reduce your premium or enhance your cover, as you see fit.

Do you need health insurance cover for just you? or you and partner? or your family? or one adult and your children?   There are two main types of policies, such as cashplan or comprehensive and various levels of cover available as well, so you will need to decide whether you would like to be covered for inpatient or outpatient treatment or both.

If private GP, dental, physiotherapy and other alternative treatments are something which you would like to be covered for, make sure that these are included. People can also make mistakes with their excesses. Even though they can often bring down the premiums for some policies, you may be paying more excess than the cost of the actual treatment.

By using the health insurance online quote forms, you can play around with adding or removing additional options (and people) on the policy before you commit to buying your cover.  This allows you to weigh up what is important and what is not so essential, whilst seeing the exact monthly figure you would pay.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Health Insurance Quotation, Health Insurance Quote, Private Health Insurance | No Comments »

Private Medical Insurance Tax Breaks for OAPs says Tory MP

March 7th, 2011

Tory MP Sir Paul Beresford is calling for tax breaks for pensioners to help pay for private medical insurance.
The move, he claims, would encourage the take-up of private health insurance in older people and therefore would help to ease the burden on the NHS.
As reported recently, the bed blocking situation caused by the ageing population within the UK is causing a strain on the NHS and this could get worse over time.  Sir Beresford told MP’s that many pensioners lost their employee medical cover benefit once they retired or they simply could not afford to continue to pay premiums after retirement.

Beresford’s Medical Insurance (Pensioner Tax Relief) Bill will “allow basic rate tax relief for pensioners of 65 plus…. rising as and when pensionable age increases. It will encourage these people either to keep health insurance or take out health insurance just as they reach the period of their life when demand can be expected to increase. If they do not have, or cease, their insurance they would add to the call on the National Health Service.”

Whilst this is an excellent idea to help pensioners maintain their health insurance policies, parliamentary time may be the stumbling block for this particular Bill as it was unopposed during its initial reading.

Freedom Healthnet Managing Director, Hooshiar Mires, noted “It is an excellent idea to give tax relief to pensioners, but this bill doesn’t go far enough.  As something that takes the strain off the over-burdened NHS, private health insurance should have a greater tax incentive for older people plus tax relief for all individuals savvy enough to invest in their health.”

Freedom Healthnet covers new policy-holders up to age 74 and then, once you have a policy with Freedom, you are covered for the duration of the policy.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Private Medical Insurance, health news | No Comments »

Going Private on the NHS – Restrictions

February 25th, 2011

As from April 2011, NHS patients are less likely to be able to choose to have private providers to do their operations, according to the Cooperation and Competition Panel.

The report noted that the NHS was restricting patient choice in a number of ways, such as reducing the number of procedures private providers could offer.

Increasing numbers of patients are choosing to go with providers other than their local NHS to undergo procedures, as per their rights within the NHS constitution.  Over the last 12 months, the numbers of NHS procedures undertaken in private hospitals has grown by 10% on average each month.  This is now worth £40 million per month.

With moves to restrict this and the national contract between the NHS and private hospitals coming to an end on 31 March 2011, patients will find that their choice and the early availability of treatment will be significantly reduced.  The NHS states that financial pressures have resulted in these moves to restrict patient choice.

People often move to taking out health insurance after they have had experience of the NHS so increasing numbers of people disappointed with the state provision will choose to take out their own private medical insurance policy to avoid delays in treatment.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in NHS, Private Health Insurance | No Comments »

Health Insurance for the Self Employed

February 7th, 2011

Working for yourself brings many benefits but there are also drawbacks. When you work for a company you have rights. If you fall ill and you have been with a company for over a year you can get sick pay. If you work for yourself and you cannot manage your business or do the jobs you normally do then you are vulnerable. This is where health insurance comes in.

If you are self-employed and fall ill the most important factor is getting better as quickly as possible so that you can continue in your business. Relying on the NHS is not always the best possible way to achieve this. Waiting lists can be long and  rehabilitation services can be patchy in many postcode areas.

Private medical insurance can help to speed things along. You can be seen as quickly as you need and assessed and booked in for any treatment or operation that you may require. In private health care waiting times are short. The standard targets for NHS waiting lists are 18 weeks. This is a long time when your medical condition is affecting the ability to work on your business to the best of your ability.

For some people having private health insurance can mean the difference between continuing with their business or having to throw in the towel particularly if cash flow has been tight. This applies in particular to self-employed people who do not have other employees. When you are the only person working on your business and you fall ill you may need to take time off.  Loosing your business’ momentum and missing out on income can be a disaster for you and your family. Getting back to full health as quickly as possible is imperative.

An additional benefit to having medical insurance is the flexibility that it provides. Having health insurance also allows you to plan treatments around your work commitments. You can have appointments to suit your business needs. You don’t have to rely on hospital timetables.  Additionally you will not have to waste valuable time sitting around in NHS waiting rooms when you would rather be working on your business.

Feedom Healthnet health insurance provide several policies that can help you stay on top of unexpected health problems if you are self-employed.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Employee Health Insurance, Employee Medical Insurance | No Comments »

Freedom Launches Comprehensive Health Insurance

January 17th, 2011

Freedom Healthnet has always provided affordable health insurance with an original twist. With their cashplan health insurance policies they deposit cash into your bank account instead of paying directly for your inpatient treatment themselves. Freedom have now launched a new, extra, medical insurance offering which provides a more traditional kind of cover, but again …. with a twist.

Freedom Elite, as the new policy is called, is very much about private health insurance options. You can choose various elements to make up the kind of medical insurance that suits you. The range of options is very large and puts you, the customer in control of what you want and need. Here is an overview of the different choices that you have:

Core In-Patient Benefit

This is the starting block of your health insurance. Extras are added this. This cover includes the following: Accommodation charges, Drugs and dressings, Theatre Charges, Specialist fees, Diagnostic Tests, Oncology MRI & CT Scans

Out-patient Cover
Cover for specialist consultations and treament fees, Xrays, pathology, diagnostic tests & proceedures, physiotherapy. Two levels of cover are available.

Alternative Therapy Cover
Cover for Osteopath, Chiropractor, Acupuncturist, Homeopath and Chiropodist/podiatrist treatment. Two levels of cover are available.

Psychiatric Cover
Cover for In-Patient and Out-Patient psychiatric treatment

GP, Dental and Optical Cover
Cover for routine and accidental dental care, Private GP, Optical consultations and prescriptions

Supplementary Benefits
Cover for Home nursing, Rehabilitation, Pregnancy complications and infertility diagnostics. There is also a Cash Benefit available for NHS Day-Patient and InPatient stays.

Executive Option
Cover for External Prosthesis, Chronic Conditions, Wellbeing Assessment, Maternity, Second Specialist Opinion, NHS Prescriptions and London Premier Hospitals.

As you can see from this list, you have a lot of options some of which are very unusual in the health insurance industry. The Executive Option, for example, is unique in the medical insurance field.

As well as the different cover options that the Freedom Elite Health Insurance offers you also have other choices which can make your plan more personal:

Choice of Hospital List
You can choose from three hospital lists: Standard, Plus and London Premier

Choice of Excess
The more excess you are prepared to pay with Freedom Elite the less you pay on your monthly premiums. You can reduce these by up to 25% if you are happy to pay an excess of £1000 towards the cost of your treatment when you make a claim.

The brochure that Freedom Healthnet shows you the specific details of your cover and over the next few weeks we will explore the Elite policy in more detail here on this site.

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Medical Insurance Policy, Private Medical Insurance | 1 Comment »

GPs Role in Medical Insurance

January 8th, 2011

The NHS GP is most people’s first port of call when it comes to ill health. GP’s diagnose and then refer patients on either to NHS departments or to private consultants if a patient has health insurance.

The GP is pivotal in private health care. Without a GP referral a patient cannot use their private health insurance to cover any private treatment. The general practitioner aims to treat a patient themselves if the cause and treatment of illness is clear and straightforward. If not then they can refer patients to see a consultant for further treatment or investigation.

Most GP surgeries will charge a fee to write letters or fill in private medical insurance forms but usually this is nominal.

The GP surgery holds the patient’s full health history which is also important if you have medical insurance. Health insurance companies usually need to look at your medical history in order to process a claim. Chronic illness, for example, is not covered by health insurance and companies need to process your claim with all the facts before they can issue you with approval for treatment or cash reimbursement.

At the moment health records are confidential and a GP needs your permission to pass on information to a third party. On the other hand you could be refused a claim if you are unwilling to offer up that  information.

It is possible for patients to access their own patient records. Surgeries normally need some advanced warning in order to prepare records for patient viewing. However not many of us do access our own records and therefore most of us are not fully aware of everything that is written in our notes. There is evidence that 60% of patients would like full access to their medical records online.

There are concerns that the role of the GP is being diminished with the advent of online medical advise. It could create a dangerous environment in which patients are self-diagnosing and dismissing vital signs of serious illness. A recent survey showed that 73% of people in the UK go online for medical information and 58% self-diagnose. This is clearly a potentially dangerous practice.

The GP should be our first port of call if we have health issues that we want answers too. Clearly they are trained to look after our wellbeing and refer us on to the appropriate specialists if needs be.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Private Medical Insurance | 1 Comment »

Low Levels of Patient-Centred Care

January 6th, 2011

One of the most important things about private health insurance is that it can enable you to access the best levels of medical care and service in the country. Conversely, according to the 2010 Commonwealth Fund appraisal of healthcare services the UK was voted seventh out of seven countries for the level of patient-centred care that we provide in the NHS. Spending cuts are likely to make it difficult for this poor standard to be remedied.

The measures used by this study include how staff communicate with their patients, the physical environment as well as the whether patients are treated as individuals rather than a homogenous mass.

Improvements are definitely on the agenda for the NHS but with little resources it may prove a difficult task. There may not be the cash, for example, to provide the single sex wards the government have committed to.

Jo Webber, deputy director of policy at the NHS Confederation, said:

‘There has been huge progress in recent years on things like the time people are waiting for care and the standard of the treatment they receive. It is now appropriate for us to be looking at the kinds of experiences people get in hospital as well.

‘Simple things like spending time with patients, talking to them, listening to their concerns and addressing issues like noise, privacy and the quality of food, can make a huge difference.’

According to US research patients who are listened to and that receive good levels of care are much more likely to get better quickly and less likely to fall into remission.

At the very least the NHS will need to invest in training up their staff to put their patients well-being at the top of the agenda.

Tags: , ,
Posted in NHS, Private Health Insurance | No Comments »

« Older Entries