Private Medical Insurance

[Longweekend]

I just realised that I did not 'opt' out of my company's BUPA cover for the year! This now means I have to pay tax on the benefit, but, if I use the private medical I would be saving the NHS money as they would not be treating me so where is the logic in charging me extra tax? You can't seem to win in this dear country of ours.......:cwm25::cwm25:

[Terpe]

Sorry but I can't support any suggestion that using private healthcare companies helps the NHS.
I'd suggest that in many ways it actually undermines the NHS.
I believe that the private sector 'cherry-picks' and shifts high cost and complex case off their books and on to the NHS. Making huge profits out of the easy work and dumping the rest onto the NHS.

Didn't BUPA get reported for offering large sums of money to their clients not to claim for unprofitable treatments and instead deplete the already stretched resources of the NHS?
How does that save money for the NHS

[Longweekend]

Not sure about BUPA having previous but if I'm having my treatment privately how can that undermine the NHS? its not costing them anything.....

[Terpe]

Not sure about BUPA having previous.......

Fairly recent:-
http://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/health/bupa-harming-nhs-offering-patients-3390254

[Terpe]

Dr Peedell added: “It looks like Bupa have calculated that it’s cheaper for them to pay patients to use the NHS than fork out themselves for private treatment which would cost them thousands of pounds.

"They are effectively cashing in on the NHS"


Food for thought

[Doc Alan]

• Having private treatment doesn't necessarily save the NHS :NoNo:.



• This is not limited to the outrageous behaviour of Britain’s biggest medical insurer ( BUPA ) in offering patients " bribes " to have NHS operations. Private healthcare is linked with money / profit margin. Complex cancer, heart and gynaecological operations are unaffordable in the private sector – even if there are no complications.



• Because you ( or your company ) has paid directly / privately for your treatment, it may be no better than that provided by the NHS. Advantages are that you may be seen quicker, have a private room with television, and get better food.


• If your treatment is straightforward – hernia repair, removal of unsightly skin lesions, or minor plastic surgery – complications are unlikely, but not impossible.


• Bear in mind that the doctors treating you may also work for the NHS, and could be working overtime. They may not even be qualified to do the work they are offering privately.



• The proportion of the NHS budget spent on private healthcare is at least 6% ( perhaps only 1% in Scotland ). Increasingly NHS work is being " farmed out " to the private sector. It’s claimed that now MORE than a quarter of the private hospital sector’s income is from treating NHS-funded patients. With competitive tendering, private healthcare providers " cherry pick " certain procedures or low risk patients, undercutting the NHS, as their overheads are less – they don’t invest in resources for dealing with emergencies.



• The NHS is a " safety net " for private patients :doh. There is frequent transfer of patients to the NHS following treatment in private hospitals. The NHS is not reimbursed for this, even if the emergency care follows a failure by a private hospital.



• It’s hard for patients to compare safety in private hospitals with NHS hospitals. Private hospitals are not required to make data on hospital deaths and safety incidents publicly available.



• Even without accurate data some risks are obvious. Most private hospitals have no intensive care beds; there may be no dedicated resuscitation teams ; surgeons and anaesthetists often work in isolation ( no trainees, or perhaps one junior doctor covering the hospital at night ).



• Records of clinical negligence claims are not publicly available as in the NHS. Private patients have no statutory rights to support their complaints or to receive independent advice or support, nor recourse to the Health Service Ombudsman. Taking legal action is tougher than in the NHS, where everything is overseen by the NHS Litigation Authority.


• The NHS not only picks up the tab for complications of private healthcare, but can also be left with the legal bill for negligence claims. If negligence is proven, it may be the NHS as commissioner of care, rather than the private provider of the surgery, who will foot the bill.



• I have always said the NHS is not perfect :NoNo:. It is, however, the envy of people in many other countries, including the Philippines – where, if you can’t pay and have delayed diagnosis and treatment for other reasons, the outlook is often not good. Transparency and accountability is continuing to increase in the NHS. The private sector lags behind. Using it doesn’t necessarily save the NHS, or the taxpaying public who fund it.



http://chpi.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/CHPI-PatientSafety-Aug2014.pdf

[Longweekend]

Thanks Doc for a comprehensive response....:xxgrinning--00xx3:

[Dedworth]

Mrs D is doing 4 hours for BUPA on the bank this morning then back to NHS later on :rolleyes:

[Rosie1958]

I just realised that I did not 'opt' out of my company's BUPA cover for the year! This now means I have to pay tax on the benefit, but, if I use the private medical I would be saving the NHS money as they would not be treating me so where is the logic in charging me extra tax? You can't seem to win in this dear country of ours.......:cwm25::cwm25:

I receive the benefit of Private Health Care Insurance through my employer too. It's a perk and you are only paying tax on the actual benefit .......... for example, if the cost to you as an employee is £40 per month, you will only pay 20% of tax of that (if a standard rate tax payer), the rest is free.

You are not paying "extra tax", a benefit is treated as income. it's a perk and the other 80% is free. It also doesn't include "ordinary" trips to see a GP for day to day issues or emergency treatment. This perk is used by companies to try to keep sickness levels down and the huge amount of associated hours lost

[joebloggs]

http://filipinaroses.com/showthread.php/53583-Superior%E2%80%99-private-health-is-a-myth?highlight=private

Spend your money on something else :wink:

[Trefor]

We both have private health cover through our jobs. I have every respect for the NHS and know its flaws through family experiences. Private Healthcare is great IMO, I can afford it and any work I've had done has been in private hospitals (Cholesteatoma ops x2, grommit and other related scans). BUPA cherrypick because they can, that is the fault of the government. I would not let BUPA 'bribe' me to go NHS if it was something they should be sorting.

[joebloggs]

I would not let BUPA 'bribe' me to go NHS if it was something they should be sorting.

You might not have a choice if something goes wrong :NoNo:

NHS doc sent me for an Ultrasound scan 2wks ago, I phoned for an appointment, they gave me anytime I wanted a week later, went yesterday, straight in and out, no waiting, I don't see how private health care could be any better :wink:

[andy222]

I have been to treat patients at BUPA care homes. I wouldnt like to see any of my family in there. And the carers are on minimum wage. Chances are if your paying for Bupa you will see the same surgeons that work for the NHS the only benefit is you might get seen quicker.

[Arthur Little]

I don't see how private health care could be any better :wink:

:iagree: ... more "snob :readingpapers: value" than anything else ... :anerikke: ... unless paid for by an employer.