To BUPA or not to BUPA

[Red Line Entry]

Saw one of the BUPA leaflets on the Stn a while ago offering a 47% discount to HM Forces and in an idle moment sent off for the gen. Turns out it will cost around 100 pounds a month to cover my family, or 60 if I leave me off.

Apart from the "what price peace of mind" argument, has anyone else taken out cover and regretted/been thankful for it? Not after sordid medical details, but if you've used it, were they as good and supportive as they make out on their advertising blurb?

I'm very tempted, but 1200 pounds a year is still a fair chunk of money which I might be better off putting to one side and paying out as and when we need something doing.

[Pontius Navigator]

My wife had an investigation (not BUPA) and it was no hassle. An op followed and again no worries. She was then called for a post-op check 3 years later. The insurers tried every which way to get out of paying and even refused to pay little sums like £25 for equipment. In the end they paid everything.

We jacked it in this year when her insurance premiums hit £1200 per year. The premiums go up at medical inflation rates which are at least double the national rates.

We asked how much the proceedure would cost - answer £1200 or so.

Now on we are with Beneden Healthcare - tenner a month - and will self-insure for anything not covered.

[speeddial]

Is your main concern NHS waiting lists? I saw an advert for an insurance recently where if you couldn't have something done within 6 weeks on the NHS then they paid for you to have it done privately.

The sad thing is that most medical insurance is given to people as part of their employment benefits so they can charge companies can afford rather than Joe Public.

[Jerry Can]

I've used it this year. I was treated by the NHS and BUPA gave me £20 for each night I spent in hospital (12 nights!) for not claiming off them. I didn't go private as in my case I didn't have to wait for treatment. The claim process was easy and they paid up within a fortnight.

[Grum Peace Odd]

I have family membership. So far this year, my wife has had about £4000 worth of various surgery and is booked in for more this coming Thursday.

I had the MO refer me privately recently as the implications of my symptoms were serious and I wanted a quick resolution. I was assured that I didn't need to bother as, because of the serious nature, I would get seen very quickly as a high priority case. I insisted on the private referral, although the JMO referred me publicly as well. I have seen the private specialist 3 times now, have had a plethora of tests, including an exploratory op. Even on days when I have been in for 5 tests, I have never had to wait more than 5 minutes between tests. In one batch of blood tests, the technician doing the analysis noted from some scan results that I had problems with a totally different organ from the one that he/she was testing the blood for. As a result, he/she ran extra tests and revealed what is probably cancer. I have 2 more operations booked.

I finally received an NHS 'priority' appointment to see a specialist which I have cancelled as it isn't due for another month yet. And that would just be the one where I would have been transferred to another waiting list for a single test with no chance of them spotting the cancer...

Bugger peace of mind - my and my family's treatment is worth more than 1200 beer tokens each year.

A fairly standard op with 2 nights in hospital will set you back more than the £1200 we pay as a family to BUPA. My treatment in the past 2 months runs to £1400 and the ops are going to cost about the same again.

Free prescriptions from the RAF are good though.

[Zoom]

I've been with them since I left the RAF nearly 20 years ago. For myself alone the premiums have gone from about £100 pa to nearly £1000 pa, with the RAF discount. I made claims for 3 ops in 1990 and that's it, about £3000 worth, but I've paid about £12000 over the 20 years. So it doesn't look like it's worth it and I could have paid cash for the ops. But what if something really big happens tomorrow? And, being self-employed, what if I don't get paid. So peace of mind is worth something to me. But there are better insurance deals in the market place.

[philrigger]

A cuationary tale.

Recently I had cause to visit my GP. He referred me to the Specialist at the local NHS hospital. Three weeks later I received a letter from the hospital stating that the current waiting time for an appointment was 17 weeks.
At the time of visiting my GP he hold me I could pay for a private consultation at 'about £300' and see a consultant with 10-14 days. What gets my goat is that the appointment would be with the same consultant as the NHS hospital.

Also, some 9 years ago I was admitted to the local NHS hospital for an operation on my shoulder for which I had waited many months. While there an elderly gent was admitted to the ward. He had undergone a hip replacement operation by way of a private hospital (PH) (paid for by a whip-round from his family) because he was in such pain that he could not wait the 18 months he was quoted for a NHS bed.
However, when all did not go according to plan the Consultant (who also ran the bad hip dept of the NHS hospital), had the elderly gent admitted into the NHS system immediately to rectify the situation ahead of NHS waiting list. (Definitely not fair). The PH should have put it right.
The PH told the old guy that the money paid only covered the cost of the operation and immediate post op care.
I believe that the PH should have had to cover the cost to sort the old gent out.
Neither he or his family had the money for this so he had to jump the NHS queue. I have nothing against the old guy, he was a very decent bloke. He took the path of least pain and I do not blame him. It is the system.

Never mind the quality, feel the width.

[airborne_artist]

A surgeon friend, when asked this Q, said that he advised all who ask him to put the same amount of money monthly into a high interest account. Another, dentist friend, refuses to deal with the dental equiv (D*npl@n), as he says they are a rip-off.

I should have added that my Mum had her hip done privately at the Edward VII hospital for officers - which gives a good discount to retired officers and their spouses (current and former!)

[Thud_and_Blunder]

A very useful thread for someone pondering returning to the Mudbank. Thanks, all, for the opinions and info.

[The Proctologist]

Not regretted it for a minute! What you are paying for is the fact that you can plan when you want to have treatment and not be screwed around by the military!
The catalyst for this? Waiting 23 weeks for an 'urgent' scan at the local NHS hospital when it would have taken 1 week privately. You have the mother of all examinations and letter writing when you a being referred to a private consultant (bearing in mind my PME last year took all of 4 1/2 mins). And it covers you until your 65th birthday.

[foldingwings]

Been with BUPA for 12 years now on the RAF Discount scheme and have had excellent value for money. Never any debate and, although they might not authorise full treatment at your first request (IOW. Tests and consultation first; then scans and X-Rays; and, yes once surgery required). Definitely had my money's worth for a family of 6. Of course, like any insurance policy, their monthly premiums increase with inflation. More importantly perhaps, like car insurance claims - the more you claim the more your premium increases. Also, the older you get, unlike a car, the more you pay in premiums as you are more likely to fail!

A few words on the Private Sector! It's not all it's cracked up to be. Yes you jump the NHS queue, but the consultants are the same guys (and gals) that you would see on the NHS - you are just paying for their golf club fees, their mansion in the posh part of town and the Bentley on their drive. Also, although you might get a nice welcome at a Private Hospital, a room of your own, wine with your dinner, priority treatment and a smiling and apparently happy nurse, the behind the scenes is not always reflective of that environment (I know, I spend most evenings hearing about the goings on from my wife who nurses on the Private sector). The first priority of a Private Hospital is, like Private Nursing Homes, to make money! Patients come a very low second and the staff are poorly paid dogs bodies in pretty frocks (that's why Mrs FW agencies at double the payrate!!).

On balance, I would go private everytime. I have and so have all my family been treated quickly and efficiently despite the behind the scenes described above.

Last point, under BUPA, no child over 21 can remain on the family policy!