BUPA - Worth it?

shelly

Microstar wrote: »

They also tend to deal only with relatively straightforward cases

I thought BUPA dealt with anything that is referred to them by your GP. The only time they don't offer cover is to disclosed pre-existing conditions.

Microstar_2

shelly wrote: »

I thought BUPA dealt with anything that is referred to them by your GP. The only time they don't offer cover is to disclosed pre-existing conditions.

Well I freely admit to being no expert on health insurance and medical economics, but I reckon that BUPA are not treating many people suffering with Alzheimer's, Motor Neurone, MS etc. I think its the case that 50% of NHS spending is on people during their last six months of life. This is the expensive to deal with stuff that private medicine tends not to see that much of (as far as I'm aware).

shelly

Thanks, I know exactly what you meant now. I have no idea either if they would treat those kinds of long-term diseases. Next time I call for an authorisation code I'll ask the operator out of curiosity.
Only thing I know is when I joined Hubbys BUPA policy I had to detail any pre-existing conditions and I am not covered for them at all. I would assume that if I was diagnosed with an illness that wasn't existing when I was added to the policy that I would be covered.
Then again I know its not safe to assume anything in this life

Lady_E

I am covered under OH work policy and for me it has been the best ever thing he "paid" for. BUPA are quick efficient and at the end of the day you get what you pay for. I had to have two MRIs and they were taken very qucikly and more importantly the results given back in a short space of time. It is not about queue jumping or looking after the worried well , but having a back up when things go pear shaped -my vote is with BUPA.

Kaz2904

Microstar wrote: »

Well I freely admit to being no expert on health insurance and medical economics, but I reckon that BUPA are not treating many people suffering with Alzheimer's, Motor Neurone, MS etc. I think its the case that 50% of NHS spending is on people during their last six months of life. This is the expensive to deal with stuff that private medicine tends not to see that much of (as far as I'm aware).

It's the 60/60 rule. 60% of each persons NHS usage (£'s) is in the last 60 days of their lives.

Whoever wanted bupa for the carpets- would you have carpet in your bathroom at home? Not very wipe clean are they?
I think the NHS is marvellous. It has its faults but it is still doing an almost impossible job.

poppy_f1

i have BUPA cover thru my work, and have to say i am very glad to have it
few weeks ago i went to the docs with abdominal pain, was given blood tests and it was thought i had gallstones, mentioed to the GP i had bupa cover, he then referred me to the local bupa hospital, got a appointment from them for last tuesday, had a ultrasound scan that night, and going in tomorrow to have a mri scan as they cant figure out what was causing the pain

all in all im pretty impressed so far, if i had been willing to wait on the NHS i'd prolly still be waiting on the the go ahead for a ultrasound scan

saintscouple

The healthcare providers i.e Bupa, Norwich Union, Pru, etc will have different types of policies, each with different benefits - thus to say something like "Bupa is no good as i have to wait for a gp referrel to a consultant" would only be relevent to the type of policy you have. Bupa may well indeed have a policy which includes gp referred radiology/pathology, etc it's just your company chose not to have that benefit included.

If you are offered free healthcare via your employer check the benefits first, what are the restrictions? Is there an excess to pay?, Are pre-existing conditions included?, Does it cover routine investigations?

You may find that if for example you have hypertension, that the policy will exclude all symptoms/conditions that are related to that.

What additional benefits are there? i.e i know of policies that if you are diagnosed with cancer and the claim is eligible, you recieve 5 years of routine investigations after the last active treatment date, and then a monetry routine benefit of say £1000 per pol year after that.

Thus, always check what benefits your company have opted to recieve on the policy - more likely than not it will be beneficial, though there again i have seen policies with a £1000 excess, and a list of exclusions as long as your arm, which would make you wonder if it would ever be worth claiming on.

Finally if you leave the company for which you have private healthcare with, it's worth discussing with the provider an individual policy. As, if you continue this with no break in cover you can opt for continued medical exclusions - which basically means that eligible conditions on the previous policy will remain eligible on the new one. You could also take this out with a new provider, not necessarly staying with the old one - thus giving you freedom to shop around and play one off against the other, and of course tailoring the benefits around your needs.