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sczoo19
16-03-2011, 17:18
Hey all,
Just a quick question really...
Anyone got private health care?
its just I was contacted by Bupa the other day and they tried to make me pay £45 per month for the cover, sounds expensive but I suppose you can't put a price on your health.. is it worth it anyone used it?

Thanks :)

Scrubbs
16-03-2011, 17:25
I pay a discounted rate ( the company I work for pays half) of £700 a year for me and my wife. I have used it twice, once for a henia op and once for my wife, worthwhile in my case as I would have lost a lot more by not getting back to work as it was all done in a week as opposed to waiting 3 months for the nhs. It is a long term thing, a lot of treatment doesn't become viable in the first 2 years.

sczoo19
16-03-2011, 17:27
Ok, thanks hmm I may ask my employer do they use them to see if theres a discount somewhere along the line aha!
Yeah I know what you mean with the NHS - im on the waiting list for councelling at the moment so on the sick until then, the doctor did say roughly 8 weeks and they should find a space for me then hopefully..

raging bull
16-03-2011, 17:36
Some years ago I was diagnosed with health problems requiring a triple heart bypass.
The waiting list at the time was like 18months,when I mentioned to consultant I had insurance, ''like would you be available next week'' he said!
I told him I was due to go on a family holiday in 2weeks, ''well then the week after you come back then'', brilliant job done at my convenience.

sczoo19
16-03-2011, 17:44
Wow!
Thats alot quicker isn't it they do change there view points when moneys involved!!
The only thing though say you were omitted to hospital for some reason (with insurance)
would they pay everything? I'm guessing that it would be down to the plan itself but the plan I was quoted was all costs, just don't know if there quiet good with their words as I'm new to the whole health insurance! :D

Will21st
16-03-2011, 23:54
Ok, thanks hmm I may ask my employer do they use them to see if theres a discount somewhere along the line aha!
Yeah I know what you mean with the NHS - im on the waiting list for councelling at the moment so on the sick until then, the doctor did say roughly 8 weeks and they should find a space for me then hopefully..

NHS counselling waiting times are a joke.They told me I should wait 2 years for one of their counsellors to become available...:rolleyes:

In the end I went private... guy charged £35 per session,but he was excellent and I have my life back! :)

raging bull
17-03-2011, 05:04
My daughter required some surgery to her leg, but had to wait to see the consultant.
The waiting time was quoted as long as 18months on NHS!
Paid the consultant for a private consultation which enabled my daughter to get surgery quicker on the NHS.

Damien
17-03-2011, 09:57
Hey all,
Just a quick question really...
Anyone got private health care?
its just I was contacted by Bupa the other day and they tried to make me pay £45 per month for the cover, sounds expensive but I suppose you can't put a price on your health.. is it worth it anyone used it?

Thanks :)

Bupa do 'levels' of insurance. Did they state which it is?

Chris
17-03-2011, 10:13
Wow!
Thats alot quicker isn't it they do change there view points when moneys involved!!

It's not about the consultant's point of view. He (or she) is paid to work a certain number of hours per week for the NHS. Any hours he has left over he is free to go and work for a private hospital if he wants.

The waiting time you were quoted was for an operation within the hours available at the NHS hospital. These can be long because there are a lot of people after those hours. But if you are prepared to pay, there are far fewer people trying to get the available hours at the private hospital.

There are other issues as well, like the efficiency of the NHS hospital (How well is it using its hours? How efficiently is it spending its budget? etc). But essentially, when a consultant you have just seen at an NHS hospital tells you he can operate on you much more quickly if you pay him privately (or get Bupa to pay him privately) it's because he has hours available at that private hospital, not because he's prepared to let you jump the NHS queue.

sczoo19
17-03-2011, 11:45
Oh right I understand, and answering the question to Damien - I have Bupa select 2 if that helps.

Hom3r
17-03-2011, 12:06
One thing to note, if you have a specific medical condition, that may be excempt from the cover.

Scrubbs
17-03-2011, 14:05
One thing to note, if you have a specific medical condition, that may be excempt from the cover.

I would say it's highly probable, in my expierience:)

Osem
17-03-2011, 14:39
Private health care costs are spiralling - I recently cancelled our cover for that very reason and will save the £1500 pa to put towards private treatment should that be necessary. They're only heading one way IMHO so what may seem affordable this year may well not be next year.

Unless you're very unlucky, you might be better off putting £50 a month away to cover/contribute directly towards any private care you feel you need for issues for which the NHS cannot provide a reasonable service in your area. Something to bear very carefully in mind with private cover is the exclusions, excesses, limits and other condititions which apply to such schemes and frequently mean they're not as comprehensive as they might seem.

Ken W
17-03-2011, 17:53
Hey all,
Just a quick question really...
Anyone got private health care?
its just I was contacted by Bupa the other day and they tried to make me pay £45 per month for the cover, sounds expensive but I suppose you can't put a price on your health.. is it worth it anyone used it?

Thanks :)

When told them I was 65 they quoted me £110, thats more than a weeks pension!.

ronnie_m
17-03-2011, 17:56
I broke my ankle in December. All the ops and treatment were on the NHS as it was emergency treatment. My wife has private healthcare through her work and i used this for physio. The NHS one was useless and I went to someone that was a sports injury specialist and after just one session i could see the difference. £100 execess but worth it as i will need a few sessions before i can walk without crutches even.

Tezcatlipoca
17-03-2011, 19:50
I've got Bupa cover through work, although I've never actually used it.

Osem
18-03-2011, 15:44
When told them I was 65 they quoted me £110, thats more than a weeks pension!.

Well of course the premiums tend to increase with age for obvious reasons.

sczoo19
18-03-2011, 16:57
One thing to note, if you have a specific medical condition, that may be excempt from the cover.

Yeah they did advise me of that, so think im a bit stuck lol!! :P

Osem
19-03-2011, 11:45
IIRC BUPA has recently announced a major fall in profits for 2010 c. 70% I think. How that'll translate in terms of insurance rates I have no idea but these things never seem to get cheaper or even increase at a reasonable rate. Every year we were being asked for about another £50-£100 in premiums.

richard1960
19-03-2011, 12:45
As an alternative to the major private insurers i pay into this and if you do not have to use it the money that goes into the deposit account part of the scheme is fully refundabe it works very well for me.


http://www.nationalfriendly.co.uk/Health-life-cover/Healthcare-Deposit-Account/

sczoo19
21-03-2011, 00:15
As an alternative to the major private insurers i pay into this and if you do not have to use it the money that goes into the deposit account part of the scheme is fully refundabe it works very well for me.


http://www.nationalfriendly.co.uk/Health-life-cover/Healthcare-Deposit-Account/

That doesn't sound like a bad idea, so your saying if you pay your premiums per month and don't make a claim say in the first year or something, then that money you have conjured up can be taken out and used on anything? or is there something I got wrong :)

richard1960
21-03-2011, 00:26
That doesn't sound like a bad idea, so your saying if you pay your premiums per month and don't make a claim say in the first year or something, then that money you have conjured up can be taken out and used on anything? or is there something I got wrong :)

No it works like this it is a type of co pay ascheme 75% of my premium goes into running the scheme so you would not get that portion back,and the other 25% goes into my personal deposit account used to help co fund any treatment i might need in the future however if i do not need any treatment and i decide to close my account sometime in the future,i get that 25% back which could amount to a bit,with a traditional private health care scheme once all of your money is paid in usually you do not get any back if you do not claim and decide to close the account.Hope that explains it to you.:)

sczoo19
21-03-2011, 00:32
No it works like this it is a type of co pay ascheme 75% of my premium goes into running the scheme so you would not get that portion back,and the other 25% goes into my personal deposit account used to help co fund any treatment i might need in the future however if i do not need any treatment and i decide to close my account sometime in the future,i get that 25% back which could amount to a bit,with a traditional private health care scheme once all of your money is paid in usually you do not get any back if you do not claim and decide to close the account.Hope that explains it to you.:)

Alright I understand it now, thanks for explaining, like you said though does seem better because at the moment I pay Bupa per month £44.00 ish a month no contract or anything but that money I am paying them (and because I am young I'm classed as a low risk) not mad a claim as of yet *fingers crossed* I wont get anything back, I am liking the sound of this one you pointed out to me, thanks for your help, much appreciated! :)

richard1960
21-03-2011, 00:35
Alright I understand it now, thanks for explaining, like you said though does seem better because at the moment I pay Bupa per month £44.00 ish a month no contract or anything but that money I am paying them (and because I am young I'm classed as a low risk) not mad a claim as of yet *fingers crossed* I wont get anything back, I am liking the sound of this one you pointed out to me, thanks for your help, much appreciated! :)

Thats okay no problems it might be worth you investigating it all of the deatils should be in various pages of the link .:)

Scrubbs
21-03-2011, 20:37
Thats okay no problems it might be worth you investigating it all of the deatils should be in various pages of the link .:)


It might be worth you dropping them a line to ask about a referal fee?
A bit late now you have linked to it but if anyone was honest enough they should put you as the referer:)

richard1960
22-03-2011, 20:38
It might be worth you dropping them a line to ask about a referal fee?
A bit late now you have linked to it but if anyone was honest enough they should put you as the referer:)

Yes.:D:D:)

Though i just posted the link as i thought people might care to have a look and it may benefit them rather then go to the big insurers,the good thing about National Freindly is they are Mutual ie owned by the members and as such have no shareholders to fund so any surpluses in theory are good for members and do not need to line others pockets .:)