Private Healthcare

[Domestic Goddess]

Is anyone here on private healthcare?

Mr DG and I have been considering signing up for it, but are not sure who to go with.

Is it money well invested?

I get tonsilitus a lot, but you need to have it 8 times a year to be able to have your tonsils out on the NHS. I would like to get mine removed and was wondering if this would be possible if we took out private healthcare?

Would like to hear your experiences - good and bad.

Many thanks!

[sp54]

We were with BUPA for a few years but only used it twice - once for our son and once for mr sp and both were out patient appointments.

I think you may find though that most healthcare schemes will not take on existing problems especially if they are chronic, but there may be some that will

[Planet 24]

Im in BUPA have been for what seems forever. :D The only problem you might have is they do not accept cover on existing conditions. I dont get covered for RA Lupus or Asthma but I did get covered for my gallstones and my broken arm which must have cost a fortune, with all the scans etc. :thumbs:

Best to cover the whole family.

Im also in American Life - insurance against female cancer, if I live another 15 years - I get all the money I paid in back with interest.

I use it like a piggy bank :lol: If i get cancer before then - its a cash payout and then so much per week until I recover or die. I know it sounds morbid but my mother had cancer, my aunt had cancer and my grandmother had cancer - so to me its worth it.

I have the all in one with BUPA that covers teeth, eye tests and chiropodist so it is well worth it in the long run as I have just had root canal surgery and it didnt actually cost a penny.

[very_tired]

I can say, without doubt, that it is most definitely worth it if someone else is paying for it !


I had some back trouble a few years back ... and what with consultations, scans, injections and operations, the total came to about 10 grand. Fortunately my employers pay for private healthcare - so it didn't cost me a penny.


My brother, on the other hand, is self-employed. A few years ago he had similar problems but no private healthcare. He did, however, pay for priivate treatment ... and the total cost worked out less than if he had been paying monthly healthcare insurance for the past 10 years.


I believe that those well known private healthcare providers will happily releive you of your money in return for treatment - so if you were interested in just a single operation it might be worth you while finding out the exact cost of that (+ follow-up appointments etc) and compare that to the cost of healthcare insurance.


I am with AXA PPP - they have been fairly even handed to deal with. I had my treatment at a BMI Healthcare hospital - very nice, but the food was still appalling !

The only thing I would say is to check the small print regarding ongoing conditions. They will pay for treatment to sort out your problem, but not indefinitely.


I used to get tonsilitis as a child ... I can still remember the horrible taste it leaves in your mouth ! Ugh ! Good luck !

VT.

[Domestic Goddess]

Well, it's not just my tonsils that I'm concerned about. My mum has had leukemia, breast cancer and ovarian cancer, her mother (my nan) had various cancers and my nan's 4 sisters all died of various forms of cancer, as did their mother, my greatnan. So, my two sisters and I feel a bit like timebombs.

Apart from my various bouts of depression, I haven't got any long term problems. Nor has Mr DG.

Do you know, if we got insured as a couple, whether it costs a lot more to have our children added to the cover? Both are healthy with no problems.

[sp54]

If I remember rightly, adding children does not affect the cost a lot oddly enough - it is the adults that are the biggest cost :rolleyes:

[Planet 24]

Better value to insure all of you , but I would seriously consider American Life - they do a specialist insurance against female cancer and the younger you start he cheaper it is. They pay out if anything should be discovered and you can have private treatment with that. If you have a history in the family as |I do, it works out for the best.