[tweetiepooh]

My private scheme via work doesn't cover chronic conditions but may cover acute episodes resulting from a chronic condition.
Related to that is cover of chronic conditions where the patient will not or cannot take care of that condition in themselves. Is there any point where you delay or withdraw further treatment until they do? Is there a difference between those who will not and those who cannot? What about the person who generally does but then on one occasions does not and ends up needing treatment compared to the person who generally does not?
Examples : the diabetic who still eats Mars daily, refuses to take any exercise (even when that is provided free or discounted), refuses to monitor their condition all because the NHS will fix things up anyway. The diabetic who is normally careful but at a special occasion forgets, becomes hypoglycaemic and injures themselves. I am not having a go at diabetics but it is a chronic condition that does require the patient to be active in their treatment, other conditions like high blood pressure may also require non-clinical action.
Overall why should the NHS pick up the bill for people who willingly don't stay healthy? I do emphasise the "willingly", they know it's wrong but can't be bothered to correct their behaviour so they don't need treatment. I guess one issue is someone who "abuses" their body but ends up needing treatment for something unrelated. You can't refuse treatment for someone with a history of high blood sugar who was hit by a car!