Private Health Insurance, Private Medical Insurance
Private medical insurance is designed as a way of covering the costs of private medical treatment, usually for curable and short-term conditions and injuries, as an alternative to using the government's free healthcare system, the NHS.
Whilst the NHS provides hospital and medical treatment to UK citizens, there are many reasons why people may opt for private insurance, including the fact that it enables them to avoid long waiting times for treatment.
Is Private Treatment an Alternative to the NHS?
People generally do not take out private health insurance as an alternative to using the NHS. This is because most private hospitals are not equipped to deal with emergency situations and do not have casualty departments.
Not only this, but many private health insurance plans will have certain conditions. For example, many long-term or incurable illnesses will not be covered, or there may be clauses in the policy that mean that only treatments unavailable on the NHS will be covered (this is usually the case for budget plans).
For these reasons, private healthcare is often used alongside NHS healthcare.
Buying Private Health Insurance
Private health insurance in the UK is offered by a number of different independent health insurance providers. All of these have their own rules, as well as different packages of cover. This is why it's important to spend time learning about what is generally covered, and comparing available plans to find the best one to suit your needs.
At the time you buy your private health insurance, any pre-existing medical problems will usually not be covered. This means that you should think carefully about changing your insurance provider when you have already been covered for some time under another service, and have developed a medical condition that may now be excluded under the new provider.
Insurance will be provided given that you pay the monthly or yearly premiums, which will usually increase each year under medical inflation. Before signing up, you may or may not have to provide detailed information regarding your current state of health. You will also generally have a cooling off period, meaning you can cancel your plan within the first two to four weeks and will receive a refund on any premiums you have already paid.
Treatments Covered by Private Insurance
As mentioned above, cover is usually for short-term illness. Each individual insurance company will specify exactly what is covered by their policy, but in general this means conditions that will usually respond to treatment and are curable - leading to a full recovery.
Treatment for these conditions is of course also available under the NHS. However, the main reason that people choose to get private medical insurance is that treatment will be available quickly as soon as they become ill, providing peace of mind to those who take out insurance.
Private patients will usually have certain other benefits, including the ability to choose when they wish to receive treatments, and the fact that they will be in a private room.
There are a number of treatments and illnesses that are generally not treated with private medical insurance. These are usually listed by the insurance provider.