THE answer is emphatically no for all but one-off major operations which the insurers cannot link (though they will try) to any “pre-existing condition”. Health insurers are notoriously obstructive in dealing with claims and their small print is hedged with confusing exclusions. They also regularly raise premiums by absurd amounts for people over 60.
I am currently in dispute with a private health insurer over treatment which was first approved by one of their advisers, then refused by a second on the ground of a “pre-existing” exclusion. (She was mysteriously unable to retrieve the recording of the first conversation.) The company has since moved the goalposts by asserting that this “non-established” treatment was never covered anyway.
At the same time, the company has increased my subscription by 60 per cent (including no-claims discount), with no explanation, apart from the standard annual bleat about rising healthcare costs.
What does the industry actually deliver? Surely some investigation needs to be undertaken.
Carol Kennedy,
London SW20
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Not at my age
UNTIL 1997, when I reached the age of 70, I had been a member of BUPA for over 30 years. BUPA’s response was to double my premiums purely because of my age. At the same time, the new Labour Chancellor, Gordon Brown, in his first Budget, withdrew the tax concessions on private healthcare contributions. In short, I was hit by a double whammy.
From that point on I have put whatever I would have regarded as my private health premiums into tax-free savings such as Premium Bonds and cash ISAs. As a result, and because I have never had to use private medicine, I am several thousands of pounds better off.
Nuffield Hospitals offer a scheme for people such as myself, where if one chooses to have an operation privately, the payment can be spread over 12 months free of interest.
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No, private health insurance for people of my age is just not worth it.
Pip Elton,
Bury St Edmunds
Inequitable life
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THE trouble with private medicine is that its practitioners have all been trained at public expense, but then desert the NHS for riches elsewhere. Those who choose to avail themselves of its services should realise that they are helping to support a parasitical industry not affordable by the poorest members of society.
Tim Mickleburgh,
Grimbsy
Basic NHS right
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YOU quoted in your article (June 11) that the cost of a hip replacement was around £6,500. How did you come to that amount? My 57-year-old husband is in agony waiting for this operation on the NHS and has been told that it is not urgent and he has to wait until December. We looked into paying to end his misery but have been quoted £9,500 to £10,500.
We therefore have the dilemma: do we take out this huge amount from our savings after paying for the NHS all his life, or do we wait and risk causing more damage as the months progress?
If I left our pet dog in this state, I would be prosecuted for cruelty. Where are my husband’s human rights? He certainly does not have any in the eyes of the NHS. I cannot find anyone to help. One day someone will sue the NHS after being left as my husband has been — not me because it will cost thousands and we might as well spend the money on the operation, not on lawyers.
Trudy Draper,
Newchurch, Isle of Wight