Insurers are preparing to plug the growing gaps in state healthcare provision as the National Health Service faces the most radical reform in its 62-year history.
Providers are launching new policies, or tweaking existing plans, as evidence emerges that the NHS is being stretched by the need to find up to £20bn in efficiency savings, and undertake structural reform.
The Royal College of Nursing recently said that some NHS trusts were already cutting jobs and services “at an alarming rate” with up to 27,000 nursing positions earmarked to go. Some trusts have starting deprioritising procedures such as varicose vein surgery, or have stopped treatments such as IVF.
In spite of this efficiency drive, the government is maintaining its pledge to ringfence the NHS budget and insists it is still meeting its key waiting time standards.
This week, the Department of Health said: “The NHS in England continues to meet the operational standards that 90 per cent of admitted patients and 95 per cent of non-admitted patients should wait no more than 18 weeks from referral to the start of consultant-led treatment, unless it is clinically appropriate to do so, or they choose to wait longer.”
Even so, private medical care providers are now evolving their offerings to meet perceived and emerging weaknesses in NHS provision.
Simplyhealth, which provides cash plans and full private medical cover (see box below) will this month launch a new cash plan for the over-70s – a group vulnerable to lengthening waiting times for non-urgent therapies.
The Simply Cash Plan 70 Plus allows individuals to claim money back, up to an annual limit, for visits to the dentist, optician, chiropodist and chiropractor. It also provides benefits such as occupational therapy, hearing-aid payments and discounts on some mobility products.
“Plus” is priced at £9.95-£39.95 per month, depending on the level of cover, and is aimed at individuals who find it difficult to obtain health insurance because of their age.
“There is already evidence that waiting times for therapies, such as physiotherapy, are increasing on the NHS,” said Jamie Wilson, spokesperson for Simplyhealth.
“This plan is to help those over the age of 70 better budget for their healthcare needs and get the treatments they need.”
Another health plan provider, Western Provident Association (WPA), this month updated its existing cash plan for supplementing NHS provision.
WPA’s “NHS Top-Up” now includes an extended benefit of £300 per year towards car parking costs for planholders and their families during inpatient or day patient treatment. This benefit was previously £50.
“Our NHS Top-Up cash plan does what it says on the packet,” said WPA. “We are strategically placed to continue supplementing what the NHS does – the product will evolve as the NHS evolves.”
Bupa, the country’s leading private medical insurance (PMI) provider, is also planning “an ambitious development programme” for its products this year, which will focus on preventative health, while remaining responsive to changes in the NHS.
“There are signs already that there may be some real challenges for the NHS in implementing the amount of change required,” said Natalie-Jane Macdonald, managing director of Bupa Health and Wellbeing.
“We have our eyes to the NHS as well as what our customers can afford when we consider our products.”
Axa, another big provider, said that while it had no plans at present to introduce new medical insurance policies, “this could of course change in light of developments [within the NHS]”.
Individuals shopping around for PMI or a cash plan are being advised to take into account not only their budget but their individual health needs.
“There are a wide variety of policies in terms of the benefits, particularly with cancer cover,” said Brian Walters, an adviser with brokers Regency Healthcare.
“Medical needs do drive choice of plan but we are finding that clients are also increasingly focused on value rather than cost. They are reading the small print to make sure that the benefits, including annual limits, are worthwhile.”
Similar Posts:
- How to Get Alternative Medicine Covered
- Fund boosts patient access to new drugs
- Understanding the Cost of Getting Private Health Cover
- Everything You Need to Know About State Health Insurance Plans
- The AA to sell private medical insurance
