Health Insurance and National Health Service FAQs

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What is the National Health Service?

The National Health Service (NHS) has been around since 1948. It provides free healthcare for all UK citizens regardless of age, occupation or the ability to pay. The NHS is funded by the taxpayer and managed by the Department of Health.

How many people have private medical insurance?

According to 2007 statistics, as many as 12.5 per cent of the UK population has private medical insurance policies. Over two and a half million people in the UK have private health care provided direct by their employer.

Do you want to know more about private health insurance?

There is now a huge private medical insurance industry in the UK, with a great variety of different health insurance companies providing an enormous range of healthcare plans, from budget to fully comprehensive. When purchasing health insurance for themselves, their employees, of their families, most people have a number of different questions. These are the queries that Healthinsurance.co.uk answers.

 

Please use this series of Healthinsurance.co.uk guides and content to learn more about the variety of health insurance policies available. Whether you are an individual looking for a private medical insurance policy, or a business looking to save money and time by keeping your employees healthy.

Finding the right health insurance plan can benefit and reassure both the individual and the company. Please use Healthinsurance.co.uk to find out as much as possible about private medical insurance.

What is Private Medical Insurance?

Private medical insurance (PMI) is a form of insurance designed to provide private healthcare treatment to policyholders. This allows those people who have PMI to avoid NHS waiting lists and secure medical treatment as quickly as possible. PMI generally covers those conditions that are acute and treatable.

Do health insurance companies exclude some people?

Unfortunately, most medical insurance policies include a list of illnesses and conditions that they automatically do not cover. These include pregnancy, drug abuse, infertility, GP fees, medical prescriptions, dentistry, abuse with alcohol, AIDS, chronic diseases such as asthma or diabetes, cosmetic surgery and a number of other diseases depending on the insurer.

 

Any illness suffered by an individual or their family members prior to commencing their health insurance policy is known as a pre-existing condition. Insurers usually exclude pre-existing conditions permanently or for a set period after the policy starts.

How do private medical insurance companies decide which people to exclude?

Private medical insurance companies assess each individual insurance application using an ‘underwriting’ process. The company reviews each case and decides whether to accept or reject the application.

Where does private medical insurance come from?

Private medical insurance is nothing new. As the National Health Service grew in the United Kingdom, the private medical insurance sector rose in parallel. Three major private health insurance companies dominated the industry in the 1950s – BUPA, PPP and the WPA. Throughout the next few decades, more and more people became privately insured. Since this time, the number of people with private medical insurance has approximately doubled every decade. According to recent reports, as many as 6.7 million people have private medical insurance.