Since the Covid pandemic the NHS has struggled to deal with the backlog of treatments, screening and appointments that built up during lockdowns. Add on another 1.5 million migrants since 2021 and the situation has worsened. The solution, as IE noted three years ago, is for people with a decent income to take out private medical insurance which kicks in when the NHS fails to diagnose, or offer treatments, specialised consultant appointments and so on. Time is vital when it comes to life threatening illness, delays can be fatal.
Well the latest PHIN data finds that in Quarter 1 (January to March) 2024 there were more private hospital admissions (238,000) than in any previous quarter on record. Insurers have an opportunity here to offer healthcare plans for individuals and families that are affordable, both direct to the consumer, and via employer benefits packages.
According to Broadstone, an “unprecedented” number of these paid for using private medical insurance (PMI), rather than being funded directly by the patient (known as self-pay). There were 238,000 PMI-funded admissions (up 6% on Q1 2023) and nearly 100,000 more admissions paid for by private medical insurance than by those ‘self-paying’.
This is the biggest gap in the payment methods since before the Covid pandemic (Q4 2019). The biggest increases in PMI-funded admissions came in the 20-29 and 30-39 year-old age groups which were both up by 13%.
MARKET ANALYSIS
Emily Jones, Client Consulting Director at leading independent consultancy Broadstone, commented: “Following a record 2023, private health admissions continued to surge through the first three months of 2024 to further all-time highs as the NHS crisis pushes hundreds of thousands of patients private. It seems inevitable that we will soon be seeing over a million private health admissions every year.
“It is little surprise that this trend is being almost entirely driven by private medical insurance as employers recognise the threat of poor health which has manifested itself in soaring economic inactivity figures. As a consequence, our clients have elevated healthcare to a Board level priority as they look to rapidly expand coverage of PMI and put in place preventative steps like access to virtual GPs, direct access services and on-site health screenings.
“These strategies aim to help employees catch health issues earlier and then ensure the rapid treatment needed to avoid to more complex, expensive treatments. Until NHS waiting lists come down significantly, we expect to see continued corporate investment in private healthcare solutions to support the wellbeing of their staff.”
https://www.phin.org.uk/news/private-healthcare-market-update-September-2024-United-Kingdom-phin
Be the first to comment