<\/p>\n
Private cover will typically give you access to increased medical resources, reduced hospital waiting times and a wider range of specialist treatments, as well as a private room.<\/p>\n
Nothing is more important to you than your health and the health of your family. If you or your loved ones were to experience worrying symptoms, private medical insurance can offer reassurance and control at a difficult time.<\/p>\n
Private medical insurance (often also referred to as health insurance) gives you access to private healthcare for conditions that develop after your policy has started. One of the main benefits of private medical insurance is the speed of access to medical treatment.<\/p>\n
Costs for your treatment<\/strong> The environment you\u2019ll be treated in will vary depending on where you\u2019re located and the type of treatment you need. You could be treated in a private hospital, health centre or private section of an NHS hospital.<\/p>\n Concentrate on getting better sooner <\/strong> If you don\u2019t already have it as part of your employee benefits package, and you can afford to pay the premiums, you might decide it\u2019s worth paying extra to have more choice over your care.<\/p>\n Choice in the level of care <\/strong> You don\u2019t have to take out private medical insurance \u2013 but if you don\u2019t want to use the NHS, you might find it hard to pay for private treatment without insurance, especially for serious conditions.<\/p>\n It may also be possible, under private medical insurance, to access the latest drugs and treatments licensed by the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), which aren\u2019t routinely available on the NHS (outpatient drugs are not covered).<\/p>\n What does it cover?<\/strong> You might also be able to choose a policy which covers mental health, depression and sports injuries, but these aren\u2019t always covered.<\/p>\n Cover usually includes:<\/strong> Cover may also include:<\/strong> There are two main types of private medical insurance policy: Cash plan policies, which provide a lump sum benefit payment in certain situations. Generally, the consumer will pay a monthly premium in return for cover for up to 100% of costs for treatment like an inpatient stay in an NHS hospital, or dental or optical treatment. These may not be included under an indemnity policy.<\/p>\n Both indemnity and cash plan policies can have additional benefits. For example:<\/strong> Another variation is a six-week plan, which covers the costs of private medical treatment when NHS waiting times for that treatment are likely to be more than six weeks.<\/p>\n International private medical insurance policies (IPMI) provide medical treatment costs cover to expatriates living overseas. Main benefits of private medical insurance are:<\/strong> Nothing is more important to you than your health and the health of your family. If you or your loved ones were to experience worrying symptoms, private medical insurance offers reassurance and control at a difficult time.\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Helping you get the treatment you need quickly at a difficult time Private medical insurance offers you reassurance when it comes to your health. If you become ill then you will have fast access to treatment, meaning you can get better sooner.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wattersonfp.co.uk\/financialnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3083"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wattersonfp.co.uk\/financialnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wattersonfp.co.uk\/financialnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wattersonfp.co.uk\/financialnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wattersonfp.co.uk\/financialnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3083"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.wattersonfp.co.uk\/financialnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3083\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wattersonfp.co.uk\/financialnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3083"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wattersonfp.co.uk\/financialnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3083"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wattersonfp.co.uk\/financialnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3083"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nYou\u2019ll pay a monthly premium that covers all or some of the costs for your treatment, and you are covered for conditions that begin after joining which can be cured. These are known as \u2018acute conditions\u2019.<\/p>\n
\nDiagnosis and treatment can be dealt with almost immediately,\u00a0reducing the anxiety of the unknown and\u00a0allowing you to concentrate on getting better sooner. With many health experts predicting that patients are set to experience poorer care and even longer waiting times, many people are turning to private health care for that extra peace of mind.<\/p>\n
\nMost UK residents are entitled to free healthcare from the NHS. One of the main reasons people take out private health insurance is to avoid long NHS waiting times. Health insurance pays all \u2013 or some \u2013 of your medical bills if you\u2019re treated privately. It gives you a choice in the level of care you get and how and when it is provided.<\/p>\n
\nLike all insurance, the cover you receive from private medical insurance depends on the policy you buy. Basic private medical insurance usually covers the costs of most in-patient treatments (tests and surgery) and daycare surgery.
\nSome policies extend to out-patient treatments (such as specialists and consultants) and might pay you a small fixed amount for each night you spend in an NHS hospital.<\/p>\n
\nThe cost of hospital admission
\nDiagnostic tests, such as MRI and CT scans
\nSurgery
\nThe costs of seeing a consultant
\nHospital accommodation and nursing care
\nCancer drugs – some polices will include drugs that are not available on the NHS<\/p>\n
\nOutpatient consultations
\nMental health treatment options
\nComplementary therapies
\nPhysiotherapy and chiropody<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Indemnity policies, which meet the costs of having private medical treatment for an acute illness or injury on a short-term basis. This could include a private room in a hospital, surgeons\u2019 and other specialists\u2019 fees, outpatient treatment like physiotherapy, and daycare treatment including surgical and diagnostic procedures.<\/p>\n
\nCover for partners and\/or children
\nOne-to-one telephone support for cancer and heart patients
\nPatient health checks and helplines
\nAccess to complementary therapies and psychiatric treatment
\nDental and optical treatment
\nTreatment at home for intravenous therapies like chemotherapy<\/p>\n
\nThere are also various specialist policies available, such as those for over-55s or ones that focus on particular diseases.<\/p>\n
\nShorter waiting times for treatment on the NHS
\nBetter facilities
\nFaster diagnosis
\nChoose from a range of private facilities
\nChoose a convenient time for appointments and treatments<\/p>\n