Who has private health insurance?

scorza said:
You could get an NHS appointment quicker if private patients weren't queue jumping.
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This is not true at all, people going private are not taking appointments that would otherwise be given to a NHS patient's.


Morba said:
For someone earning as much money as you, no its not expensive. For the majority of the country though it is a 'luxury' extra that most people cannot justify paying, especially not when it comes to families.

I bet most people that have it here, on ocuk, would not have it if it was not given as a benefit through their work.
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yes is a luxury but at 50 quid a month I would rather spend it on health insurance then eating out, smoking or drinking.
 
Dr House said:
yes is a luxury but at 50 quid a month I would rather spend it on health insurance then eating out, smoking or drinking.
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That is you, for everyone else the NHS is more than good enough so they would rather see something from the money that they are spending.
 
Dr House said:
I was just wondering how many of you have private heath insurance?

The NHS is good to have a fall back option but I would never risk not having proper health insurance and its really not as expensive as people think. I pay 48 pounds per month for comprehensive cover with Bupa.

Can we have a poll

Yes
No
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Do you want to see the NHS privatised?
 
Larkspeed said:
Don't make that mistake m8. I used to think the same thing and then at 18 I wrapped my car around a pole and required over $30,000 dollars worth of reconstructive surgery and out patient care. I was very lucky as I was living in Canada at the time and it was picked up by medicare. In the UK I would have been royaly screwed.
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As my post states I have life cover & criticial illness in the event I have a heafty sum paid out. I appreciate the concern. Whilst the NHS may not be brilliant by some standards it isn't costing me anything extra. Should I need it I have family that would willingly front the costs for me initially.

Morba said:
For someone earning as much money as you, no its not expensive. For the majority of the country though it is a 'luxury' extra that most people cannot justify paying, especially not when it comes to families.

I bet most people that have it here, on ocuk, would not have it if it was not given as a benefit through their work.
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Expanding on this I'm sure the majority have Sky or Cable TV which can equate to £30-50 per month which could be used to cover private health care yet entertainment takes priority due to alreadying having the NHS.
 
Dolph said:
But it isn't a zero sum game, the consultants don't do private work instead of NHS work, but in addition to, and frequently pay the NHS for use of their facilities.
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This is not quite true - consultants don't tend to do a 37.5 hour week at the NHS then do private work as well.

If you do private work, you have less time for NHS work.
 
scorza said:
But you're not getting less service, you're getting more service - access to healthcare via the NHS and private providers. You're paying more tax because insurance costs money, paid for by your company making it equivalent to income and subject to taxation. In my example of France, I believe the situation is that everyone has to pay the universal healthcare premium, and those can afford it pay for top-up healthcare premiums. I don't see any fundamental difference between that and what we have - other than we spend a lot less on healthcare than they do in France.
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You have to pay more tax on it if you are even on £20k a year with BUPA through work.

If I opt out of the benefit, I would get a bit more in my salary, but it's tiny, like £100 more a year, an amount which is not enough to get you on BUPA if you do it privately.

What I am saying is that if I opt out, I get more pay, my total income is not enough to take me over the next bracket of tax. So I am getting punished for how I decide to use my work benefit.
 
Yep as a taxable benefit through work, i think we have the top end business plan but tbh i never read the documentation when it comes through every year.

I see it as a great way to see a consultant or get tests done quicker than going directly through the NHS, list of exclusions posted above is a none issue since 80% of them don't apply and I have no pre-existing conditions.
 
cheets64 said:
Do you want to see the NHS privatised?
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No I dont but I would rather have the option of private treatment if available/affordable.

scorza said:
But you're not getting less service, you're getting more service - access to healthcare via the NHS and private providers. You're paying more tax because insurance costs money, paid for by your company making it equivalent to income and subject to taxation. In my example of France, I believe the situation is that everyone has to pay the universal healthcare premium, and those can afford it pay for top-up healthcare premiums. I don't see any fundamental difference between that and what we have - other than we spend a lot less on healthcare than they do in France.
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Yes the insurance costs money which is paid for by the employer however by opting to spend this money you are reducing your burden on the state, now I am not saying you should get tax any relief for the reduced burden but I don't think you should pay additional taxes because of this.

However as someone mentioned above you should get some sort of tax credit if you send your kids to private soon (I dont plan to send my kids to private school).


BennyC said:
As my post states I have life cover & criticial illness in the event I have a heafty sum paid out. I appreciate the concern. Whilst the NHS may not be brilliant by some standards it isn't costing me anything extra. Should I need it I have family that would willingly front the costs for me initially.



Expanding on this I'm sure the majority have Sky or Cable TV which can equate to £30-50 per month which could be used to cover private health care yet entertainment takes priority due to alreadying having the NHS.
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Unless you have a mortgage or dependents to worry about when you are gone which I assume you do not at 21 the above cover is really pointless. The conditions covered by critical illness cover are very limited (unless you are paying big money for your cover) and you are very unluckily to suffer from the conditions that are covered at your ages and if you die what is the point of having a large lump sum unless you have depended you want to take care of. I would rather spend the money on paying health insurance premiums then life insurance to help reduce the chance of me needing to claim on the life insurance:D
 
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Raymond Lin said:
You have to pay more tax on it if you are even on £20k a year with BUPA through work.

If I opt out of the benefit, I would get a bit more in my salary, but it's tiny, like £100 more a year, an amount which is not enough to get you on BUPA if you do it privately.

What I am saying is that if I opt out, I get more pay, my total income is not enough to take me over the next bracket of tax. So I am getting punished for how I decide to use my work benefit.
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It sounds like your beef is with your employer then for not offering the cash equivalent of the health insurance premium. If they offered you a choice between £50 a month extra in your pay, or a health insurance worth £50 a month (and therefore a taxable benefit) then you'd pay the same amount of tax for both options.
 
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