Healthcare Cashplans discussion area

spend_it_to_save_it_girl

Does anybody know if I can take advantage of one of the cashplans whilst also being a member of a company BUPA scheme??

Details: We pay a monthly amount to my husband's company to have family BUPA membership. My husband is also (heavily!) taxed for having this benefit (I assume that the scheme is subsidised and he is being taxed on the bit that the company stumps up)

If I received for example treatment from an osteopath, I would have to pay the osteopath direct and then claim the amount back from BUPA (subject to strict limits etc.) Can I also claim the cost of that treatment back from the healthcare plan? In effect I pay £30 to Mr Osteopath then send copies of the receipts to BUPA and a cash plan provider and BOTH of them pay me the £30 back???

my gut instinct reply to my own question is "of course you can't!" but my moneysaving radar wants me to check that I am not missing a trick and make sure that there is not a legal and above board loophole that I can take advantage of!!!

Any thoughts?

dunstonh

Private medical insurance is a different cover to hospital cash plans and you can have both with little problem. In a few places there may be the odd overlap but there are no issues with cover being refused.

spend_it_to_save_it_girl

thanks Dunstonh,

I have just edited my original post to more explicitly ask the question I really want to know i.e. can I ask both BUPA AND the cashplan provider to reimburse me for the same treatment?!?

Thanks

koru

I very much doubt you could get a double reimbursement. I suspect this would be fraud or something like ti. You need to read the T&Cs very carefully.

Lugh_Chronain

I’m having dental treatment on the NHS at the present which will amount to about £140 or more, initial check-up + polish + crown and maybe a couple of fillings. Will it be worth my time joining the likes of Westfield or should I just join a scheme that covers NHS dental treatment only. I found Universal Provident on Moneysupermarket @ £5.95 per month but not sure if this is worth it, how much I will get back verses how much I will pay for treatment. However, because this is the cheapest I found I thought that maybe it might be the best for me but not sure.

The other thing I have to consider is the % you get back and because I am not a mathematical genius I thought that someone who has a bit more knowledge on the above mentioned could help me out here.

I would also like to point out that the reason I would like to get some kind of cover is not necessarily to make a profit but to at least get some, if not all, of the money I spend on treatment.

Nevertheless, if I were to join Westfield I could get other treatment besides but very unlikely. Unless this covers complimentary therapy such as reflexology, etc, then yes it might be worth me joining.

If anyone can help me out here I would be very grateful.

I will be phoning both Westfield and Universal Provident to find out more.

System

Is there an insurance policy i can take out just for my teeth? The reason being, i have 5 crowns that need replacing every so often. I think the last time they were changed was when i was pregnant with my son, so it didnt cost me anything, but i know, sooner or later i am going to have to shell out in the region of £1,000 to have them replaced which would really eat away at my savings.

I dont wear glasses, i dont pay for my prescriptions as i have a thyroid condition - and apart from carrying more weight than i should do, i am reasonably healthy so i dont need the other benefits.

hostertlady

was just reading the threads on the health plans, my husband has an insurance through work and it covers a few things but not optical or dental so we took out one with hsa as well.. Having read the threads about having two policies and could you claim on two at the same time made me check the t & c and the small print and sure enough... i came across 'we do not cover any claim that is insured under another insurance policy' well well..
i have only just joined the hsa one and i explained that i had another policy and she said it didnt matter as i could claim on both!!!!!!!! well i have been stitched up haven't I? i will be on the phone first thing.........gggrrrrrrrr

paws17

:mad: I am a glasses wearer with ropey teeth and a new family (2.5 and 4yrs) and for years was bled dry by the supposedly "non-profit-making" antics of Westfield. I now keep the £25 - £30 a month or so I was paying out in my own bank account and use those proceeds to pay for NHS dental treatment & replacement glasses and eye tests I need at a discounted rate in the various sales that the main opticians' chains have from time to time.

Before you dare sign up with Westfield check out the following items of interest from their terms and conditions:

- the initial qualifying period for benefit is at least 6 months for anything other than the two lowest benefits levels - with others it is often only 13 weeks. That's tantamount to giving them 6 months' subscription fees with no possible return on your investment. (Sounds a bit like like an Allied Dunbar pension to me!!)

- the benefits for optical are only claimable once every 2 years - not annually as for some of the other companies

- the benefits cycle is a rolling one with moving goalposts. i.e. If you made a full-entitlement claim on an annual benefit on Jan 1st 2005 and then didn't make a claim on that same benefit until June 1st 2006, you wouldn't come back into entitlement until June 1st 2007 NOT Jan 1st 2007. i.e. 12 months after the date of your most recent claim. So, you've effectively had another 6 months subscription pinched off you for no possible return.

- Finally, the real killer.... They will not refund claims if they are made after a 13 week cut-off period (Not 12 months grace like some of the others). If you fall foul of this once and complain they will send you a condescending letter telling you what a naughty boy you've been and that , just this once, they will process your claim. But you will be left in no doubt that if it happens again, you can whistle for your money....and they do this to "protect the interests of their members" apparently. Did I not count as a member????

This diatribe may sound just like sour-grapes coming from someone who did manage to get maternity benefit out of them for both of our children before cancelling my membership with them - but do please take heed of my warnings. They didn't acquire beautifully appointed premises for themselves in the heart of Sheffield by acting as a "non-profit making" organisation. The only act of benevolence I can see is that of the armies of current subscribers who are continuing to line the pockets of this organisation. Well they won't be getting anything more off me I'm afraid.....

cheers,
paws17

JFMarkham_2

My wife and I are with HSA (joined well before Martin wrote his article) and we are inprofit each year. Never had any issue from HSA.

The even better news is that you can now use your Tesco vouchers to pay for HSA, which as Martin has noted before is the best way to use your vouchers.

You can get HSA Level 1 cover that normally costs £114.40 per annum for £28.60 in vouchers.

So you only need to claim back £28.60 and you are in profit. Looks like a great deal to me!

tinalives

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