Private Medical Insurance

[Beerbaron]

yeah i've had bupa with work. it's been great to get seen quickly but whether you get a good doctor or not is another thing
one i went to see came out to a waiting room full of people and kind of went 'ini mini miny moe' to find out who he'd take in next. i sat there for well over an hr past when i was meant to see him. i ended up with a second opinion on that one too, he was useless.
this isn't bupas fault, just unprofessional practitioners, you can get them everywhere.
for minor stuff and scans etc it's good to have. but as a wise man once said, just don't get sick in the first place

I cant fault the MRI scan. In and out on time. I managed to get copy on CD which the physio even looked at.

 

[Minstadave]

If it happens I've got a date of April 22nd for a full knee replacement - it only took 4 years.
On the other hand my wife had a normal appointment to see a Clinician and later this month the operation is being done in a private hospital at no cost to us.

Not got high hopes that that will go ahead at this rate

 

[Martynt74]

I have gone private through work seeing as it costs so little.

My referral to ENT through my GP was a 22 week wait time. Rang AXA and got one booked within a week.

I'm also going through physio for a few long standing issues. Just so happens that the one insurance referred me to is a local one I would probably have used anyway which is good. And I'm probably going to get referred by her to a specialist through it too. The costs would seriously be racking up which is partly why I hadn't done it previously.

Yeah, i'm with Vitality through work and for the tiny amount it costs me it's well worth it.

I tend to go to the physio for any little niggles when i probably wouldn't usually bother if i was paying myself!

As above, it can be hit and miss on the practitioner though. I went to one about my ankle who was useless. I'm currently seeing one who's excellent and will definitely keep his details for future use.

 

[SexyGreyFox]

Not got high hopes that that will go ahead at this rate

Same here but talking to the Managers they can't see a problem with Ortho carrying on - we'll see.

 

[Mikeey]

I personally pay for PMI and literally just wanted it in place to jump the queue. The NHS is fantastic and I know I could end up seeing the same surgeon if I had to rely on the NHS. With all this coronavirus the NHS could implode so money well spent as far as I’m concerned. It’s also something where I pay monthly in the hope I never need it.

 

[Ugley_Matt]

I was having knee an joint pain and used our works private cover, I had a scan, injection and it went away. It later returned and I went to the nhs, got diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis, and am now on meds long term. I didn’t enjoy private as I was constantly worried if this or that was covered. And in my case it did feel like private patches you up, nhs is with you for life

 

[tamzzy]

Not got high hopes that that will go ahead at this rate

Same here but talking to the Managers they can't see a problem with Ortho carrying on - we'll see.

In 2010, during the h1n1 flu season, a trust that I worked at saw a 1% increase in A+E visits above expected.
This caused a spike in admissions that most elective surgeries were cancelled for 2 months.
I guess we'll see what cov19 has in store for us...
The Italians think 10% of admitted cov19 patients will need intensive care and some trusts are making preparations to use theatres as overflow as most ICUs are already 95-99% occupancy

 

[SexyGreyFox]

The Italians think 10% of admitted cov19 patients will need intensive care and some trusts are making preparations to use theatres as overflow as most ICUs are already 95-99% occupancy

We have 6 Pods of about 8 beds and they are virtually always full.
We are lucky that we have a nice big Infection Control ward that we already have two patients from outside the area and I think one from our area.
Even though I work at the Stoke hospital, my operation is 17 miles away at County (Stafford) so that's why I might have a chance of it going ahead.

 

[tlrBeta]

I've had private insurance for me and the family through my work for many years. I pay a monthly fee and an excess if I need to see a consultant. However, the excess is a one fee per year and we have usually been seen very sharpish.

Personally, I see it as worth its weight in gold, my other half has a had a knee op, my son has had grommets, I have had many various physio / back & ankle scans and treatment.

I don't have any negatives - the pro's outweigh the cost for me.

 

[Oxide™]

Banged on about this before but long story short I had surgery in 2017 to replace two severely herniated spinal discs in my neck with new artificial discs.

Thankfully it was all covered through company BUPA.

Had the operation the following week after diagnosis at the The Princess Grace Hospital, Marylebone which was fantastic! kept in there for 4 days which cost BUPA 16k - off work for 5 weeks.

Wouldn't have been able to afford that otherwise with a top Team GB Olympic surgeon and quality of facilities/care and reduced waiting times (could not have lived in that pain whilst waiting months for NHS)

The above alone was a life saver!

 

[doodah]

Bumpety bump. On the fence if I should go on my wife's scheme at work. We initially thought it would be around £50pm but as soon as we added me to learn more details (no info added yet), it jumped to £115pm which is quite substantial.

But I'm almost 40 and have been very fortunate with my health/not needing treatment much, just mindful that over the next decade and beyond - that could likely change.

Edit - and a quick comparison for quotes is showing me £89pm for the same company/coverage as provided by my wife's company.

 

[Koalaboy]

I'll just add a viewpoint, which may or may not help.

I've had it through work a couple of times (and once privately) and never used it, so can't speak to that side although I know some folks who did use it and had good service.

The two stalling points for me:

1) You have to usually go through their GP, which is probably much quicker than the often terrible NHS GP service these days, but means a video call with a random remote person, which may well not be what you want for a 'doctor'. Depends on your expectations.

2) If it's something that will need ongoing medication, what are the costs/troubles if you then can't afford the private health (or lose your job). There's not much information on what 'handover' may even be available and you could be left in an odd situation, out of pocket, or without meds.

Maybe not something most people care about, but that's what has stopped me using it. Then again, we haven't really needed things much until recently, and the NHS GPs have become far worse lately, so I may think again.

 

[EvilRob]

It is fantastic for quick diagnostics and treatment of acute problems as mentioned.

My biggest tip is do your research and request which consultant you want to see, don't just be fobbed off with the one your provider suggests. In the last year I've seen:

• One of the most prominent cardiologists in the UK
• An orthopaedic consultant who takes care of sports injuries for one of the big UK football clubs

Also, you get treated by the consultant, not a junior doctor on a big team like in the NHS.

 

[doodah]

Thank you both, useful to know. I just rang Vitality myself to get a quote which came to £106pm (didn't realise the perks you get with PMI). However that was with them choosing a consultant, something I didn't put much thought into. But now I've read the above (and that I work with a bunch of prominent clinicians), think I'll get a quote to choose as well.

 

[voidshatter]

If you want PMI, better get it while still young with a clean GP profile. This is because if you ever have to do a large claim, they'll try their best to scrutinise your GP and hospital history and prove that your claim is a result of a pre-existing condition, so that they can decline your claim.

Also, mathematically, you'll be making a loss by having PMI compared against PAYG. Insurance is just smoothing out your risk at the cost of more money. Most of the time you might just find your diagnosis and treatment to be within their general exclusions.

 

[doodah]

That's why I'm considering it now, I'm generally healthy but 30-40s are where things have started going wrong with friends and family. And on the surface of it, for the plans I'm looking at, the services/conditions that are more likely to affect me are covered.

 

[Haggisman]

Bumpety bump. On the fence if I should go on my wife's scheme at work. We initially thought it would be around £50pm but as soon as we added me to learn more details (no info added yet), it jumped to £115pm which is quite substantial.

But I'm almost 40 and have been very fortunate with my health/not needing treatment much, just mindful that over the next decade and beyond - that could likely change.

Edit - and a quick comparison for quotes is showing me £89pm for the same company/coverage as provided by my wife's company.

That seems a lot! Is that the pre-tax value or what will actually be taken out of her pay packet? We're paying the same privately for the whole family (2 adults, both (just) over 40 + 2 kids).

Also, mathematically, you'll be making a loss by having PMI compared against PAYG. Insurance is just smoothing out your risk at the cost of more money. Most of the time you might just find your diagnosis and treatment to be within their general exclusions.

For most people, yes - you're basically betting on yourself getting a major illness which will cost thousands to treat!

We're considering ditching it - it does sting a bit to be paying over £100/month for something we're not actually "using"; but of course you can guarantee the day after we cancel, one of us will end up with some obscure disease

 

[doodah]

@Haggisman it does seem a lot but when I enter my basic details online, I don't see anything under £86pm. Looking at my wife's company PMI (Vitality) - it's £115 for a good range of coverage but potentially less perks that I would like use (and this is them selecting the consultant). Going my own route with Vitality with slightly more tailored coverage (less things but stuff I wouldn't necessarily want), perks I would use but them also selecting a consultant @ £106pm. And same again but with my own (national) consultant selection @ £117pm*. There's also the consideration that going my own route means I'm not tied to my wife having a role at her company.

*If I'm going to be paying >£100pm, this would be a very useful aspect to me as I work in a hospital.

 

[voidshatter]

I'm generally healthy but 30-40s are where things have started going wrong with friends and family

If you're around 30s-40s, remember not to do more GP appointments or hospital scans/investigations before sorting out new insurance policies, including PMI, life insurance etc. One of my friend unfortunately got fatty liver after a blood test before sorting out his PMI, and as a result all PMI providers exclude his entire liver from all future treatment such as liver cancer.

Is that the pre-tax value or what will actually be taken out of her pay packet?

If I understand it correctly, tax is charged anyway, regardless of whether it's paid by the employer or by herself?

We're considering ditching it - it does sting a bit to be paying over £100/month for something we're not actually "using"; but of course you can guarantee the day after we cancel, one of us will end up with some obscure disease

We read that during Covid, the NHS was totally broken - you get a diagnosis of cancer at stage 1, then you remain in the queue without treatment until stage 3. This kind of scary stuff is what puts us off from cancelling PMI policies.

 

[doodah]

@voidshatter good point as I'm keen to get a health MOT further down the line (blood works etc). I did get one a couple of years back during an Anthony Nolan donation and was largely good.