I posted this two years ago;
http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/should-i-join-bupa

Three months ago, I went to see my GP about what turned out to be Hydrocele Testis.

I’ve lost track of when the various visits were, but the “four week waiting list” in each case to see the ultrasound scanner, then the registrar, then the pre-op have all turned out to be a lot longer.
The operation itself is still a month away.

It’s not life threatening and it’s not painful, but it makes riding a bike very uncomfortable. I’ve gone from 750km a month to little more than the bare minimum of commuting by the shortest route and taking any excuse to drive in rather than than cycle.
I’ve done a few 3 hour trailquests (did I mention I ride trailquests ?), but avoided any 6 or 12 hour events this year, so it is life changing in a way.

So, the question is; If I had BUPA cover when I went to my GP three months ago, how quickly would this have been sorted.
If I didn’t have BUPA cover and had paid for private treatment, how much would it have cost and how quickly would it have been sorted ?

Is this you trying to say that you’ve got a whopping set of gonads?

Sorry No.

At some point in your lifetime you will die.

Sorry to break that to you.

😉

Yes, you should have joined. My employer pays for it for all staff. A surprisingly high number opt out because they don’t want the tax liability.

Those with it who have needed to use it have been seen almost as quickly as they can get the hospital.

A number without the cover have developed painful or debilitating conditions and had PLENTY of time to regret their choices.

I apply the general rule for all types on insurance – “only insure what you cannot afford to replace”. I cannot afford to pay my own private medical bills, so I can live with £15/month tax.

Yes. I used to belong to Bupa (paid by work) and had a couple of things fixed. The biggest was a ruptured ACL, NHS was dragging it’s feet so I got my GP to refer me. 4 days later I saw the consultant, 2 days after that MRI scan, the following week I was in for op number 1. 6 weeks afterwards op number 2 and then twice weekly physio for about 9 months.

My neighbour at the time ruptured his ACL a couple of months after me but had no insurance so had to go NHS. It took him something like 4 months to get an MRI, a year after the rupture he was still waiting for an op.

My current employer offers Bupa but it’s not that cheap, especially not for a family of 4 so we’re not covered anymore.

Edit: Once it was all done we added up the invoices (we were sent copies) and it came to well over £10k.

I’m about to start a new job with Bupa. I’m not yet sure what the tax liability will be, but at what point would it become “worth it”?

For example – £20 a month, probably worth it. £50 a month – not so sure.

I am due to have a knee op through BUPA a week on Monday first had consultation at the beginning of June MRI later the same day op will be less than 5 weeks after being referred. BUPA insurance has worked for me but you could have paid for it and never used it. Cost of consultation and MRI was £795 op bill to follow.

wallop

i pay 50 quid – half tax and half for family cover to cover the mrs and any future rug rats.

i think 50 quid is a small price to pay for the time saved when it comes to illness/injury.

we havnt had to use it yet BUT if we ever do i dont want to be posting this thread for me or my family.

Food for thought

£50 – not bad for a family, I guess.

nick1962 – whats your point …. private clinic doesnt always mean bupa….

just as bupa doesnt always mean private clinic.

doesnt mention bupa affliated private clinics – it does say its an NHS contracted private clinic though .

bad care happens on both sides – i have no illusions that my bupa cover offers any better treatment but if i need treatment i want it sooner rather than later.

So, the question is; If I had BUPA cover when I went to my GP three months ago, how quickly would this have been sorted.
If I didn’t have BUPA cover and had paid for private treatment, how much would it have cost and how quickly would it have been sorted ?

If you your GP referred you 3 months ago this would probably have been resolved by now, providing your insurance provider didn’t categorise this as a pre-existing condition. This can apply for a set period at the start of your cover. Usually for two years.

My experience is to get the GP to write a letter of referral, book a specialist of your choosing & go to see him. I’ve had an appointment to see a consultant the next day after going to see my GP.

If you choose to pay, which is something I’ve also done, you don’t necessarily need a doctors referral. You phone the hospital, & they will advise you. My experience using this method was that I was in & out in less than a week.

As for costs £££££ you’d need to ask. Possibly not as scary as you might think. If it’s holding you back I’d take the hit.

D.

I had exceptional treatment from the NHS 23 yrs ago when i shattered my T6 & T9 vertebrae along with breaking 9 ribs, two punctured lungs, one hip, displacement of internal organs and muscle damage – thanks to the NHS and one Neurosurgeon along with his support team i managed to walk out of the hospital after many-many months of operations and treatment, however since then my continuing treatment for various problems/injuries has been a very hit n’ miss affair.

A few years ago i injured myself on the bike and could not get a satisfactory response/treatment within a desired timescale from the NHS, i was on minimum wage and working as much as i could without making the problem worse so going private was out of the question but i was at my wits end so i thought “****-it” and found the money from a not so-legal method and to be honest it was an eye-opener as to what level of medical care and treatment “so-called-others” on private medical care regularly expect and receive, if i could afford it i would go private for all my medical care and undoubtably i would be in far better heath than i currently am, the NHS is great for emergency treatment, anything other than this and it falls far short of what we should get/expect in this day and age.

If you can afford it then go private.

bupa makes me lol, if you’re in one of there hospitals and you get really ill they send you off to the NHS… you think NHS hospitals are understaffed at weekends!!
scariest thing i’ve ever heard in a Private hospital, was one nurse asking another nurse were the crash trolley had gone.. i heard this while waiting for an appointment in said hospital..

Also a lot of the equipment is second hand, guess who they buy it off..
think about this, if you are in a room in your own, you might not be seen for a hour or more if you fall on the floor.. that won’t happen on a open ward.

bupa makes me lol, if you’re in one of there hospitals and you get really ill they send you off to the NHS… you think NHS hospitals are understaffed at weekends!!

NHS hospitals are like the Marie Celeste at the weekends. Mrs Davesport was in Spire recently & the place was (according to staff)at 100% occupation, 95 % of those were overflow from the NHS who were unable to cope. I can’t begin to imagine what the NHS has to pay to do this. A colossal waste of money ! & then there’s the PFI to pay for the other places 🙁

the problem with the NHS is there are too many patients taking up beds that have social not medical problems.

I have bupa and it was quick to get seen bug my cover had a day treatment limit of £1000 PA which was soon swallowed by a couple of cardiology visits of an hour each. Had it turned out to be serious I’m sure that I’d be grateful of the quick treatment.
I had dental cover too but that doesn’t appear yo be worth the money.

Can’t be bothered to read everything plus got beer goggles on. But if your company contribute and part of your employment yes. If not its my opinion no that’s what the NHS is for. That aside the NHS is a slow reactor to some medical issues in my experience

Thanks for the replies.
I’m currently shopping around now. Nobody seems to have prices on their web site, it looks like you have to fill in a form and wait for a reply.
None of them ask for any health related information beyond smoking.
I suppose, if they did, everyone would claim to be a vegan doing several hours of exercise a week. 😕

Wife and I are covered through work but I removed the kids as the NHS tends to be pretty good when kids are involved.
Put what I saved on dental and that has been a winner, both had 400 quid bills in the last month!

Your nhs waits are not unusual. I had a 3month wait for a consultants opinion on ‘tahat area’ 15 years ago. Cannot imagine it has improved.

I get private health through work. The benefit in kind value is about 2000 and the one time i should have used it i didnt think to tell the gp i had cover and spent a year getting all sorts of tests that might have been done in half the time.

I get it through work – Via Simply Health.
Wife and I are covered as BIK, and I pay extra for the kids. I think all in I pay about £50 per month.
We’ve had our moneys worth though – 2 years ago my daughter had an eye Op on it, and last year she had £1k worth of tests to diagnose Coeliac’s disease, via genetic profiling which at that time wasn’t available on the NHS.
My wife also had some tests/scans last year (false alarm thankfully)on it.

In our experience we’ve always managed to get an appointment for the consultants next surgery – longest we waited was a week.

My brother also has healthcare through work, and has so far had 6 years worth of Cancer treatment at the London Clinic out of it.
That includes 3 major Ops (one of which was to remove over half his liver) and 5 courses of Chemo.
He has had treatments which are not available on the NHS, and I honestly think he might not be here now if it wasn’t for the healthcare plan.

So, I’d say if you can afford it – go for it. I wish I didn’t have to (as we all pay for the NHS every month – so it should be good enough) but having watched what my brother has been through I feel that I can’t afford not to.

Also through Simply Health here – haven’t needed to claim but it’s a relief to know it’s there, especially since it covers injuries related to fooling around on a bike.

No idea what I actually pay for it (my payslips are completely indecipherable) but it’s shown as a tax liability of £58.

I’m glad the place I work for offers private medical insurance, although I’ve not used it in the 5 years I’ve been covered I know quite a few that have. In fact so many that they raised our excess last year to £200 (per claim) so that’s one thing to watch out for.

I am very fortunate & get cover through work.

I was recently knocked off my bike, & have done the whole post accident recovery treatments via BUPA. (That’s 20+ physio treatments offered on both a hand and shoulder injury, a consultant appointment for the shoulder etc etc). As said above, all the appointments are at my convenience, not the medics. (The benefit of BUPA to my employers is that I don’t need time off in the working day for appointments)

I pay tax on a Benefit in Kind of £1200 for me and the family. I have to pay the 1st £100 as an excess, on the 1st treatment in a 12month period.

IMO it’s well worth it, we’re all sporty in the family and seem to spend a fair amount of time at the physio for various sports injuries

Just hot my p11 back today and mine costs £467 a year in tax. I’m sure someone can work out what that is in real terms.

BUPA through work here with full medical history disregarded (means that I’m covered for anything even if it was pre-existing), cancer cover – the full works.

Can’t really say no to that and had to have an operation on it – from GP referral to Op was 3 weeks and that’s only because my consultant was on holiday.

Couldn’t have waited very easily for it on the NHS.

Cheers

Danny B

Well, my son had a similar problem and we *have* BUPA cover but ended up having it done on the NHS anyway, as BUPA wouldn’t cover the cost of the surgeon because it was above some price threshold. And he was the only surgeon that did the op. Was not too impressed with that situation – so rest assured you probably wouldn’t be any better off with BUPA in your case.