No matter where you live, in which part of the world you reside or how rich or poor you are, health care is each individual’s basic right and core interest. Everyone living in any respective country must be provided with basic to intense levels of healthcare by the government. Only a healthy nation can be a productive nation after all.
When talking about the UK, healthcare services are covered by the National Health Service (NHS) that are backed by general taxation and operated by the Department of health. However, there are responsibilities owned by different organizations formed by the NHS to provide the best services to their patients.
For example in England, Clinical Commissioning Group(CCG) has a group of General Practitioners(GP) who are set according to their location and have the authorization to take the best possible measures to cure their patients. There are a number of departments involved to keep a check on GPs and their activities.
The primary care is given by the GP at different levels but in case of secondary or more required cases, they pass the file to further care departments.
There is no doubt about how vigilant and careful the NHS is for the patients, but even then people go for private healthcare and health insurance due to reasons such as:
- People go for Private health care and insurance to access services in case of urgency.
- It saves them a long waiting time. Since going through NHS may take a few days, weeks or even months to acquire required services.
- It also saves you money as if you need dental care or other services.
- You can visit a doctor as per your convenience too, avoiding long waiting hours especially if you are coming from a rural area where medical services are limited.
For more information, on UK health services visit: https://www.now-health.com/en/countries-we-cover/united-kingdom/
10 Factors To Consider When Choosing Private Healthcare Insurance In The UK
It’s always good to do a certain amount of research before choosing any service especially if it’s related to healthcare. Here are ten factors that are essential when considering what policy to choose and from what provider as your health and wellness are of the utmost importance!
1. Coverage Of The Policy
A policy should be as close to comprehensive as possible when it comes to medical coverage. This includes the cost of all minor and major tests, as well as, many other services including but not limited to; mental health coverage, surgery, emergency services, cancer treatment, blood tests, Xrays, chemotherapy, radiology, dental care and much more. The better your coverage the more protected you are from a medical perspective from unforeseen incidents.
2. Facilities offered depending on circumstances
This includes your location, budget, selection of clinics for doctors and investigation procedures. Depending on each individual’s medical history, overall budget and place of residents different policies could serve more suitable than others so its always best to shop around.
3. Does age matter?
Insurance is not age-restricted. Anyone is applicable for health insurance regardless of age and prior medical conditions. However, such factors can greatly increase your monthly premium which can make getting a new insurance policy altogether unattainable as in most cases it would be way too expensive to afford from the average income earner. This is why is it is best to get a health insurance policy at an early age and that too one which has a “lifetime renewal” clause.
4. “Lifetime Renewal” Policy?
A lifetime renewable health insurance policy ensures that no matter how old you get you are always able to renew your health insurance plan. Always look for a policy that offers lifetime renewal as it can mean a lot less headache later on as looking for a new insurance provider when you get older becomes increasingly time-consuming and expensive.
5. Inclusion of home nursing
There are certain treatments, such as physiotherapy, that are required after one is released from the hospital and recovering. These sessions can be quite expensive so its always best to make sure that your insurance policy covers such aftercare treatments. Home nursing is another important factor to consider. Although uncommon, some insurance providers do offer this service which is also quite expensive and beyond the means of most to afford on their own.
6. Are special drugs and cancer treatment covered
Cancer is one of the most deadly diseases that is becoming increasingly common amongst both the young and old. No matter what health insurance plan you choose make sure that it covers at least in part expenses for cancer treatment and drugs. Treatments like Chemotherapy and Radiation therapy are extremely expensive and so are cancer drugs. A health insurance plan that covers cancer treatment can give you a lot of peace of mind as this disease can cripple an individual both physically and financially.
7. Support For Chronic Disease
Most insurance companies do not support chronic diseases. So this one is a tough one to find. If you can, however, find a policy that covers this and isn’t altogether that much more expensive, opt for that policy instead as just like cancer, chronic diseases require intensive and expensive treatment.
8. Investigation and diagnosis covered
If this factor is covered then you are good to go with the service since many companies do not back this service. You have to pay for personal diagnosis and medical investigations on your own unless you have a truly extensive health insurance plan.
9. Direct Medical Billing
The last thing one wants is to cough up a ton of cash in the case of a medical emergency only to have that money tied up during long and often arduous claim processes. Always look for an insurance provider that offers direct billing to many different organizations so that you are covered no matter where you may be in the world.
10. Death Coverage
Most health insurance policies only cover basic medical services including routine checkups, emergency services, dental and such. They also include coverage for prescription drugs and various other treatments and surgical processes but very rarely will a policy provide coverage in the case of death.
Conclusion
By comparing different policies using the ten recommended factors can help you decide on which one is most suitable for your needs based on your personal medical history, budget, and geographic location.