NHS V Private Health Insurance
Last week the government announced that it would make it a legal requirement for patients to have to wait no longer than 18 weeks before they are treated on the NHS after which time they have to be treated at a private establishment.
This new development proves how linked the NHS and private sectors have become. However private medical insurance patients are not necessarily happy to see NHS patients treated for free within the private sector when they have been paying for their regular monthly premiums.
For private establishments the NHS desire to use them has been a godsend as their patient figures have been steadily declining. In 2007 53,000 NHS patients were seen in private hospitals. This figure had risen to 151,000 in 2008.
William Laing, chief executive of analysts Laing & Buisson said:
'The extra business, however, has been a mixed blessing for independent hospital operators since such work they take on at NHS tariff rates offers a lower profit margin than private work. If and when self-pay demand returns, and as medically insured activity grows in the future, existing independent hospitals will wish to return to their core private business.
'The big question for the future is whether the independent sector will have an appetite for investment in additional, lower cost capacity aimed specifically at servicing the NHS market. Experience with the independent sector treatment centre (ISTC) programme has dented providers' confidence in the government's long term intentions, but nevertheless the NHS is a massive market and the independent sector share of it is currently very small, at just 4%.'
For people who pay for their health insurance it might be upsetting to see NHS patients being treated in the same type of establishments as them. However, it is not just the proposed 18 week law that is causing cause for concern. Currently it is common for NHS patients to be given a list of private providers that can carry out their treatment at NHS cost.
Chris Meier, head of marketing at private health insurance (PMI) provider National Friendly said:
'It may be slightly jarring to realise that an NHS patient is being treated by the same type of consultant in the same environment, but they won’t necessarily have had the accelerated access and in all likelihood they will have spent a long time on a waiting list.'
This new development proves how linked the NHS and private sectors have become. However private medical insurance patients are not necessarily happy to see NHS patients treated for free within the private sector when they have been paying for their regular monthly premiums.
For private establishments the NHS desire to use them has been a godsend as their patient figures have been steadily declining. In 2007 53,000 NHS patients were seen in private hospitals. This figure had risen to 151,000 in 2008.
William Laing, chief executive of analysts Laing & Buisson said:
'The extra business, however, has been a mixed blessing for independent hospital operators since such work they take on at NHS tariff rates offers a lower profit margin than private work. If and when self-pay demand returns, and as medically insured activity grows in the future, existing independent hospitals will wish to return to their core private business.
'The big question for the future is whether the independent sector will have an appetite for investment in additional, lower cost capacity aimed specifically at servicing the NHS market. Experience with the independent sector treatment centre (ISTC) programme has dented providers' confidence in the government's long term intentions, but nevertheless the NHS is a massive market and the independent sector share of it is currently very small, at just 4%.'
For people who pay for their health insurance it might be upsetting to see NHS patients being treated in the same type of establishments as them. However, it is not just the proposed 18 week law that is causing cause for concern. Currently it is common for NHS patients to be given a list of private providers that can carry out their treatment at NHS cost.
Chris Meier, head of marketing at private health insurance (PMI) provider National Friendly said:
'It may be slightly jarring to realise that an NHS patient is being treated by the same type of consultant in the same environment, but they won’t necessarily have had the accelerated access and in all likelihood they will have spent a long time on a waiting list.'
Labels: health insurance, private health insurance, private medical insurance
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