I'm considering getting private health insurance but I'm not sure how it works or if it's worth it.

throwaway12222

I know I could probably google all of these questions but I'd rather try and have a direct answer from the helpful folks here rather than reading through countless websites. 

I'm on the Bupa health insurance quote page and entered all my details and stuff and with the comprehensive level of cover I want I'm looking at a £55 a month policy, with a £250 excess.

I have schizophrenia and take a few medications each month so I pay for a pre payment certificate which works out at about £9.50 per month. Would this certificate likely be covered by the policy? I wasn't asked anything about this filling out my details.

I sometimes become unwell and get admitted to psychiatric hospitals but getting a bed can sometimes be agonisingly long 3+ days wait time. Would having private healthcare open me up to getting a bed in a private psychiatric hospital?

If you have an injury or something happens that requires immediate treatment, I'm assuming an ambulance will just take you to a regular A&E nhs hospital and you'll be treated there, but any procedures or treatments that need to be done at a later date would be done at a private hospital?

Lastly the cost... £55 is quite a bit of money for me because I'm only on a minimum wage job but without getting political, I only see the NHS getting worse over time, not better. So the peace of mind of private health insurance is probably well worth the money. But then again I don't really know how private health waiting times / patient care compares to NHS. So it could just be a bit of a waste of money?

Thanks for any insight.

Edi81

Pre existing conditions are not covered. 

https://www.bupa.co.uk/health/health-insurance/understanding-health-insurance/private-health-insurance-exclusions

elsien

They say they cover mental health, but I would expect that to be for a new diagnosis. I can’t see them providing all your medication and the cost of already known about potential hospital treatment for £55 a month when you know the chances are high that you will be back in Hospital again at some point. 

It may be different for the rich and famous, but the people I know who have been under section and in a private hospital it’s been paid for by the NHS either because they need specialist treatment or because there are no beds anywhere else and they can’t wait. it has meant, though being moved to a hospital the other side of the country away from all your support networks.

I do think though that given the complexity of your health you would be better off contactiong them directly and asking the questions rather than relying on comments from here or possibly vague terms and conditions. 

DullGreyGuy

throwaway12222 said:

I know I could probably google all of these questions but I'd rather try and have a direct answer from the helpful folks here rather than reading through countless websites. 

I'm on the Bupa health insurance quote page and entered all my details and stuff and with the comprehensive level of cover I want I'm looking at a £55 a month policy, with a £250 excess.

I have schizophrenia and take a few medications each month so I pay for a pre payment certificate which works out at about £9.50 per month. Would this certificate likely be covered by the policy? I wasn't asked anything about this filling out my details.

I sometimes become unwell and get admitted to psychiatric hospitals but getting a bed can sometimes be agonisingly long 3+ days wait time. Would having private healthcare open me up to getting a bed in a private psychiatric hospital?

If you have an injury or something happens that requires immediate treatment, I'm assuming an ambulance will just take you to a regular A&E nhs hospital and you'll be treated there, but any procedures or treatments that need to be done at a later date would be done at a private hospital?

Lastly the cost... £55 is quite a bit of money for me because I'm only on a minimum wage job but without getting political, I only see the NHS getting worse over time, not better. So the peace of mind of private health insurance is probably well worth the money. But then again I don't really know how private health waiting times / patient care compares to NHS. So it could just be a bit of a waste of money?

There are multiple ways PMI can be written but going direct personally pre-existing conditions will be excluded or at best be put on a moratorium so only become covered if you go treatment, symptom and doctor free for 2-3 years (varies by provider). 

Were you to change jobs and be able to be included in their corporate scheme then another options opens up which is that all pre-existing conditions are covered but thats up to your employer to want to pay that level of premiums. 

NHS prescription charges wouldn't be covered by PMI, most dont cover outpatient medications either, though in our experience they give you a private prescription until your stable and for chronic conditions your GP then takes over issuing NHS ones. 

You wouldn't be able to be covered for schizophrenia given you take meds but were you to develop another psych issue that is unrelated to it then it would, you'd need a referral from a GP but Bupa have a 24/7 GP online service you can typically get an appointment within a couple of hours. 

Emergency medicine isn't covered by any UK PMI, so yes you'd go by NHS ambulance to a NHS ambulance and they'd stabilise you. Once you are stable you can then transfer to a private hospital (which could potentially be another wing in the same building) or follow up surgery etc covered at a later date. 


As to waiting times... I had potential new issue, GP did a referral at the start of Oct 2023, NHS said appointment late Feb 2024. Saw private consultant in just under 2 weeks, could have been quicker but wanted a late appointment at a particular hospital. Blood test same day, MRI scan next day. Follow up appointment with consultant 1 week after the first. Diagnosis, immediate treatment of an ultrasound guided injection 4 days later (again could have been sooner). Had to wait 2 weeks for effect of injection saw the consultant again, she wanted another Drs opinion on something else before deciding between two meds. Saw him the same week, tests the following Monday, saw him again on Thursday and he said shouldn't take one of the meds so the other was prescribed. 

2.5 months later saw the NHS consultant, ironically the boss of the private consultant who also works in the NHS hospital. Clearly a very short appointment, she agreed on the diagnosis and been on quarterly telephone appointments to monitor progression and reaction to meds since. 


For moderate conditions, particularly if you are London based where there are hundreds of consultants, it's vastly quicker. Can't say about the provinces and for critical conditions the NHS typically can pull its finger out.