private health insurance-explain to me in idiot terms

[pumpa]

after 6 yrs of hitting a brick wall with the nhs i want to try private. i havent got much money at all, all i know about private is it isnt the nhs! seriously..i havent a clue how to go about it. is it expensive? do you just pay a bit a week and youre covered or what? i can see there are threads but they are too detailed for me, i just want the whole private thing explaining..please?

[Toothsmith]

Just be aware that if you have a 'pre existing condition' it will almost certainly not be covered.

That is, if there is something already wrong, the insurance won't pay to fix it.

You can still have private treatment for the thing that is wrong - you will just have to pay the full cost of it.

I think BUPA do 'fixed price' treatments for straightforward things. If it's a complex, or ongoing condition, the NHS is probably your best bet.

[pumpa]

the nhs refuses to help though. its a long story. is there no insurance that covers a pre existing condition, even if you paid more? theres a specialist centre i want to go to in london and the nhs wont fund it.

[Toothsmith]

An insurance company, like all companies, has to take in more money than it pays out in order to stay solvent.

Therefore if it took people on who needed more money out than they could ever pay in, the company would go bust.

Probably simplest to get a low cost loan, and pay that back monthly.

What place is it? If it's 'alternative' you may well struggle to get the NHS to pay for it - or even an insurance company.

[Bossyboots]

Agree mostly with what has been said. However, some of the insurers will cover some pre-existing conditions after a period of time has passed from joining. However, the criteria for that cover is that in the "moratorium" period you must not have suffered any symptoms, sought any medical advice, had any treatment or taken any medication in relation to the condition.

Also, private health insurance may only cover consultation and surgical intervention, not ongoing treatments. Any treatment is subject to their agreement and subject to it being carried out by an approved consultant/institution. It therefore sounds entirely unlikely that any private medical cover is going to be any more helpful than the NHS.

The only way I could find around the pre-existing condition issue was to join my husband's coporate BUPA scheme as a dependant. They cover pre-existing conditions on that policy and I am eternally grateful to the MSE member who made what seemed to be a tongue in cheek remark in another thread but in doing so gave me the solution to my trials and tribulations with the pathetic treatment I was receiving under the NHS.

[pumpa]

oh !!!!!!..lol well can anyone give me an idea of what to do when you have exhausted everything they will do on the nhs then..the centre in london is not alternative by the way, the nhs do fund sometimes but not my postcode, typical. ive had a condition for 6 yrs which is very disabling and the nhs have basically told me thats it now, they wont do anything else, regardless of which doctor/consultant i see. its very upsetting as its basically ruining my life without going into details...just wish there was something else i could try that was why i was thinking of bupa or something

[Toothsmith]

Write to your MP?

Contact the papers?

This shower HATE bad press. it's the only way to get things moving sometimes.

Just look at Herseptin!

[paddytt]

All BUPA hospitals accept people on their "Fixed Price" scheme. You want it, you pay for it. Like everything in life.

Except the things you don't want but you still have to pay for....