Originally Posted by
airborne_artist
Though not a quack, I'm surrounded by them in the family and as friends. None of them advise BUPA or any other private medical plan. . . . if there's anything that needs treatment they then push you into their NHS list and in most cases the wait is not long.
Have a look here:
Benenden Healthcare: Join Now - Benenden Healthcare, not-for-profit, mutual, friendly, Society
For you and spouse it is only £2.50 per week. They do what A_A says, they refer you to the NHS primarily and then supplement as necessary.
As a member of Beneden you can then join Best Health. Their upper tier costs £374.40 per year so our total cost is about £500 per year but we get most of that back, and often more, from claims. Optical and dental £400, therapies £600, hospital £75 per diem, birth grant £600. Oddly there is a 10 month moratorium on that one.
We claim back our annual dental checks and of course the osteopath. Mrs PN got about £300 back for her glasses as we had already dipped in to the optical/dental pot.
On the other hand we used to have Legal and General for Mrs PN alone. This was like BUPA and quite affordable. However year on year the costs rose well above inflation and exceeded £1300 per year a few years ago. Mrs PN then underwent an examination and they paid. She had to go back 3 years later for a re-check and they quibbled about even minor things - the cost? £3600. Clearly self-funding would have been a zero sum game.