How Much Does Private Healthcare Cost in the UK?

It can be difficult to precisely and accurately pinpoint how much a typical UK private health insurance quote and overall policy will cost, as for obvious reasons, not everyone will have the same cover and in addition, different people will choose different cover, which will be more suited to personal and family needs and requirements.

What Affects My Health Insurance?

There are 2 main elements that will ultimately, have a direct effect on your health insurance, including the potential cost and premium you will pay, who will cover you and what the policy may or may not include.

Personal Circumstances – Your individual and specific personal circumstances will have an effect on the cost of your health insurance cost. Common factors that will affect the type and level of cover you may receive when it comes to health insurance in the UK will include:

• Your age
• Where you live
• Your financial situation
• Your overall health status
• Whether or not you are a smoker

The above, as well as various other potential factors can all potentially contribute to the premium you do or do not receive from a health insurance provider, as it can help insurance companies narrow down the right policy for you, such as establishing the appropriate insurance cover to be assigned based on whether you are elderly or not, whether a pre-existing condition will be covered or not under the policy and trying to assign the right insurance cover based on your specific health condition.

Your Chosen Level of Cover – This refers to the level of health insurance cover you ultimately receive, the maximum you may want to pay by way of the policy and any excess, your policy benefit limits, who the policy will be covering and the hospital access you choose (for example full national access or local regional access to hospitals.)

How Much Does Health Insurance in the UK Cost?

According to four of the largest UK Health Insurers (BUPA, AXA, Aviva and Vitality), the average quote for a healthy 33-year-old is between £26 and £48 per month, or £312 and £576 per year. Of course, individuals who are older or have bigger families may expect to see a higher quote figure.

Ultimately, the most important aspect to think about when considering purchasing private healthcare is whether or not you are actually financially capable of taking out healthcare insurance.

Different hospitals may also have an effect on the cost of private health insurance. Of course, the amount a UK hospital charges to treat patients will vary depending on things like the hospital in question and staff and equipment required and used.

Use of facilities and accommodation are usually charged at a variety of different rates. As expected, it is not unusual for hospitals in larger UK cities to be more expensive than more rural hospitals.

The Health Insurance Process Explained

All health insurers will have differences in their processes and in how they work and operate. There are however, some things which are more uniform across different providers and health insurers which you should be aware of.

Firstly, the insurance company will ultimately negotiate with hospitals to ensure that prices do not rise to an unattainable level. They can do this by possibly negotiating to receive preferential rates on behalf of various patients. Secondly, your insurance company may group different hospitals together. Normally, the cheapest hospitals are grouped, then the middle-priced set are grouped and finally the most expensive hospitals

Finally, you will also have to choose from the three groups, which ones you want to be treated at, should you require treatment. This ensures that you will pay for the cheapest hospital based closest to you wherever possible.

You may find that you have to pay more for your health insurance if your live in or near a large city, as your local hospital may be in the insurance policy’s group of the more expensive hospitals available to you. Most popular UK insurance companies (such as BUPA, Aviva and others) follow this pattern.

How Much Do Private Healthcare Treatments in the UK Cost?

Different treatments vary in their prices and as you may expect, different providers will charge different rates based on a variety of factors. However, there are some common treatments in the UK whose prices are a little more certain than others.

Here is a list of the average cost for common healthcare treatments, although they may not specifically apply to your personal circumstance:

• Knee Replacement: £11,434
• Hip Replacement: £10,761
• Cataract Surgery: £2,425
• Varicose vein surgery: £2,585
• Cardiac pacemaker insertion: £4,925
• Hernia repair: £2,695
• Skin lesion removal: £1,045
• Coronary angiogram: £2,066

When seeking private healthcare, it is always best to get quotes from multiple providers, as prices may vary based on your own personal situation. This way you can avoid paying more than necessary for your health insurance.