Following on from my thread a week ago about health insurance I have now looked at some polices/what we can afford/what we want out of a policy etc.

For £20 a month (£40 joint) we can get this

Simply Personal Health
Your quote

Email me this quote

Premium shown includes Insurance Premium Tax (IPT).
You

Amend who’s covered Amend
Tailor your cover

Simply Personal Health comes with Diagnosis cover on all policies. You can then choose whether to add Treatment, Heart and Cancer cover or both, depending on your needs.
Compulsory module Cost per month
Diagnosis
You are covered for all diagnostic tests and consultations recommended as medically necessary by a specialist in order to diagnose your condition. This includes blood tests, X-rays and scans such as CT, MRI and PET scans where you are referred by a GP.

£20.48

Optional modules
Treatment
Once diagnosed, this module will ensure that you receive the necessary treatment to get you better. This doesn’t include treatment for any Heart or Cancer condition. £24.58
Heart and Cancer
This module gives you extra peace of mind for two of the biggest health risks we face today. You can choose a lifetime limit of £50,000 each for the treatment of Heart and Cancer conditions or the cover can be unlimited depending on your requirements. £9.56
Excess
There is a compulsory excess of £100. You have the option to increase this if you wish to lower your monthly premium. This selection affects the cost
Hospital network

National and Metropolitan give you a wide range of hospitals to visit and you decide where you want to go
Connections – we will direct you to the hospital where you will receive your treatment.

National Metropolitan Connections
This selection affects the cost
Your quote £20.48

So basically for my £20 a month I’m not covered for any treatment that would be back to the NHS but if I needed a scan etc it would be done quicker…this is where I get a bit confused so worst case scenario I have a scan see consultant and then armed with my diagnoses I go back to my GP and they then refer me on for whatever I may need ?

If you can offer any advice than that would be great? Do you think this policy is worth it ? Thoughts etc

Bump !

I cant believe no one here has anything to say ! Must be a 1st !

Maybe I didnt ask the question in the right way so Ill ask it again

1. is a diagnosis /scan /consultant only insurance worth it ?

2. If I had this what would a GP do with any findings for eg I had the big C what would they be duty bound to do ? Would you have to go through the whole system again or do use the results as a given etc ?

3. Thanks

For the most part, I’ve found that having health insureance is a choice; when you don’t want to wait on the NHS waiting list, you can choose to accelerate your care. For example when my wife was fainting and passing out randomley, I chose to get her to have a MRI scan 4 days later rather than join a 4 month waiting list. So it gives you that piece of mind.

But for the family and self emergency’s I’ve had in my life, the reaction, attention and care from the NHS has been first rate.

Edit: What I’m trying to say is, don’t be fooled that your are buying medical insurance becasue the NHS is crap – its isn’t, its just busy.

There are, in fact, rules about ‘chopping and changing’ between NHS and private treatment.
I believe, technically, you could be refused (non-urgent) NHS treatment if you’ve gone down the private route.

TBH, that policy looks pretty useless at a brief glance.

bloods, XRs, and ultrasounds can all be simply requested by your GP via NHS.

DrP

to be fair

bloods, XRs, and ultrasounds can all be simply requested by your GP via NHS.

this is all true but worse case scenario I found a lump or wife did etc I went to GP I use the consultant insurance I go back to GP with result much quicker surly thats got to be better than waiting 10 days to 2 weeks for scan etc…would they refuse this and make you go back through the system ?

Anybody wondering why NHS patients now have to wait so long?

APF

This way should be relieving the NHS ?

See here and here for some SLIGHTLY clearer information.

TBH, I still get confused about the system – sometimes people see a private consultant and then move into the NHS system…

Also, this section is important:
“Your GP will only refer you to a specialist if they believe that specialist assessment or treatment is necessary. If they don’t think it is, they don’t have to refer you – either privately or on the NHS.”

DrP

Not when it’s the same consultants doing work privately AND under the NHS.

Not when it’s the same consultants doing work privately AND under the NHS

A common misconception.
The consultant will do private work in his ‘spare time’ – you cannot opt to reduce contracted NHS work in preference for private.

You could, however, retire from NHS work altogether, but very few do this.

DrP

DrP – Member

See here and here for some SLIGHTLY clearer information.

TBH, I still get confused about the system – sometimes people see a private consultant and then move into the NHS system…

Also, this section is important:
“Your GP will only refer you to a specialist if they believe that specialist assessment or treatment is necessary. If they don’t think it is, they don’t have to refer you – either privately or on the NHS.”

DrP

Thanks for that it seems I can do what I was thinking.

You shouldn’t need to have any of the same tests twice, for example, to diagnose or monitor your condition. In this case, the test will probably be part of your NHS care and the result will be shared with your private care provider if necessary. Specialist NHS equipment, such as scanners, may be used for private patients, as long as this does not affect the care of NHS patients.