Forum Topic

Private Health Insurance for the Elderly - Is it worth it?

My parents are both in their late 80s. They have always had private health insurance - which they have never really used - and their premiums are now 5k plus each.They both have separate medical issues but these seem to be not entirely covered by their insurance - and in any case because of their age they get good care from the NHS.So it seems to me that despite having paid their premiums for years, it's a rip off when you get into old age and are unlikely to use it.Have other people had any experience of this? Is private health insurance for the elderly worth it at all?

Simon Meyers ● 5042d24 Comments

How do they feel about it?

Micki Hawkes ● 5042d

Seems to me you have answered your own question.  My opinion would be no.

Bernadette Paul ● 5042d

I have had private medical insurance for the last 30 years and have been unlucky enough to have made full use of it.Unfortunately,I have also been in Charing Cross as an emergency admission,which private insurance does not cover so I was in an NHS ward.There is no comparison.The NHS experience was truly horrible.There was an old lady in the room next to my ward that was screaming "I want the telly on "all night.The staff took no notice of her and just stayed at the nurses station all night laughing and joking.In the end I shut the door the the side room but it was opened again by the old woman who continued screaming.When I did finally manage to get some sleep,I was awoken again by one of the other patients going through my locker.Again the staff took no notice.I got out of bed,got dressed and left the ward walking straight past the nurses station and nobody asked where I was going.I got a cab home and nobody from the hospital knew I had gone until I rang them the next day.This is the reason I continue to pay for private insurance.I am sure the medical treatment you get is much the same,it's just nice to have your own room with good food when you are in hospital.The other option is to have treatment on the NHS but pay for a private room.This is not cheap,about £500 per night last time I checked, and not all hospitals provide this option.How would your parents feel if the insurance was cancelled and soon after,treatment was needed.Would they feel cheated after paying insurance for many years without making a claim and then finding themselves in the same situation that I was in.I'm sure they would.It's like doing the lottery for many years and then seeing your jackpot numbers come up the week you decided to stop buying a ticket.Medical insurance is very expensive but at their age is it not worth paying it for a few more years to ensure they get treated well if the need arises?

Andy Pease ● 5042d

They are getting to the stage where they get muddled very easily. It's something they have always done automatically but they can see that their care needs are being met by the NHS, so they are torn. Like a lot of people, they are nervous about being left in an overcrowded ward or corridor, even though that has not been their experience.

Simon Meyers ● 5042d

If they can afford it it worth keeping on.  It's bad enough being old and frail without fearing being sidelined when at your most vulnerable as well.  While they keep paying they keep their medical care in their own hands.

Viv Griffith ● 5042d

Yes good point Andy. And well put, trouble is every time something does happen to either of them, it end up being the NHS that is more responsive, and more appropriate to their needs, at least medically. So it's really an insurance premium for room and food, and maybe getting a scan done quicker... but not much more because as you say, the medical care is much the same.

Simon Meyers ● 5042d

Put the premiums into anISA or savings account and pay for a room if you find the Ward not to their liking.

John Southey ● 5042d

Simon,John's idea is a sound one.If you put the money you would pay for the insurance premiums into an instant access account,you will have funds available should either of your parents need treatment.This could then be used to pay for scans etc or private accommodation if either of them are hospitalised,and if they are fortunate and do not need treatment,you will build up a nice little nest egg.John's idea is the best all round solution to your problem

Andy Pease ● 5042d

I don't believe the treatment is the same for private and NHS patients. Years ago after a heart attack I was admitted to an NHS hospital. The quiality of it I won't even begin to describe, perhaps suffice to say I did not get changed out of my street clothes so that I could make a quick getaway if needed.I stumped up the cash and went private, yes I was treated by the same doctor and he used the same equipment for the angiogram BUT he gave me the option of the NHS stints or the better quality ones for private patients. I have long since thought that it seemed like a false economy to put in substandard stints for NHS patients when it could well mean that they would be back for more treatment prematurely.I think that the peace of mind I associate with private insurance is worth every penny.

Sue Elliott ● 5042d

This is a very good idea but..........15 years ago a friend in his late 80s, no medical insurance but had set aside £25k for a rainy day decided that day had come when he needed open heart surgery and was put on an NHS waiting list.  Had he not been able to pay for his treatment he would almost certainly have died before the NHS got to him. If your parents have got the funds to pay for any shortfall should an expensive emergecy come up, the ISA idea works rally well.

Viv Griffith ● 5042d

Gosh, I didn't know there were two types of stent.

Susan Kelly ● 5042d

I'm not sure where your parents are lucky enough to be being treated but my experience of the NHS and the elderly is very different. If there are family available to be on hand all day to feed and water, take to the toilet etc then fine but if not nobody cares. You can shout all day for a drink and no one will come. You will go home at night and come back in the morning to find your loved one sitting in a puddle. If I had not seen it for myself I would not have believed it and this was not a one off, several times, different hospitals. At that age the elderly can deteriorate rapidly if for example they have a fall, suddenly things don't heal like they used to and everything becomes more complicated. What price dignity?

Milena Vincic ● 5042d

Some private plans give you cashback if you take the NHS option.  Might be worth seeing if they took the NHS option and it was ok if they would have the cashback to be able to pay for a few extras or put towards the following year's premium.  Then, if the NHS ward was too horrible they could ask to be moved to private.  It's worth checking perhaps if their current plan pays casback  (mine does) but I don't know how easy it is once you are admitted to an NHS ward to swap to a private one if necessary - you might have to change hospitals, and there may be rules that say if you have started the treatment with the NHS you have to continue it for that particular condition.  Worth looking into I would have thought. Not all NHS hospitals are awful, I was well treated and well fed for a broken leg at Chelsea and Westminster apart from the rather sadistic physios!

Claire Moran ● 5042d

The cash back plans pay only a token amount if you opt for NHS treatment instead of private.Mine pays £40 per night,and that only pays for each night you are an inmate,just enough to pay for your morning coffee,papers and doughnuts to replace the inedible breakfast of stale weetabix,curdled warm milk and thimble full of reconstituted orange juice that gives off fumes like petrol when you can finally rip off the industrial strength foil that tears your fingers to pieces and makes you spill the 'juice all over the bed.These inedible delights are usually served by a female of unknown age and origin and who is completely devoid of the ability to speak and who looks at you as if you are a patient from some distant far off galaxy if you should say "good morning "to her

Andy Pease ● 5042d

That's very harsh if I may say. I recently had a short sojourn in Hammersmith Hospital - NHS - and the staff from surgeons to cleaners were polite, efficient and nothing was too much trouble. The food whilst not cordon bleu was edible and served with a smile.

Vanessa Smith ● 5042d

My father was an avid hater of Charing Cross hospital after a few admissions over the years.  That was until he was admitted in October with worsening symptoms of his terminal cancer.  The care he received on 8W ward from all the staff (and he saw a lot) was excellent.  He was unable to get a place at the hospice (long waiting list!) and when the CXH wanted to discharge him to a very good nursing home, he begged them to let him stay in the hospital.  For those who knew my father and had heard him swear every time CXH was mentioned this would be incredible.  During the 3 weeks he was there, my uncle from the USA was visiting and was astonished by the care that he received and said that the equivalent investigations/treatment and length of stay would cost hundreds of thousands in America (he's a dr there so he knows).  He said his perception of the NHS has completely changed.  On the last day of my father's life, as he lay in a coma, the ward did everything they could to get him a side room and when one was finally available, they made us wait to go in whilst they washed him and changed all his linen and gown.  They constantly offered us refreshments on that day and when he died they allowed us as much time as we wanted with his body and many of the staff came to give us their condolences.  I will never forget this and I know that as so many people have terrible experiences with the NHS, it's easy to lose sight of how wonderful it can be too.Back to the question of private health insurance - if they can afford it then why not?  It could potentially make a more pleasant hospital experience and might ease everyone's worries in the event of illness.

Marjan Lee ● 5042d

Apologies for hijacking this thread but I wonder if anybody could advise me on a health insurance matter? I had an extremely comprehensive health insurance through a prior employer until March 2012. Recently a company medical management company (they are on the web but I'm loathe to name them on a public forum) have claimed for surgery dating back to Sept 2007 on behalf of the doctor.  My former insurer has refused the claim as it exceeds their 18 month deadline.  This company are now asking me to cover these bills.  I did pay £35 earlier this year as I understood it was a one-off bill that had been overlooked and I was about to go on a trip and wanted to clear my desk.  Now I fear being pursued by debt collectors (as the previous letter threatened) for a significant amount that would have been completely covered by my policy back in 2007 (full insurance company details were provided to the hospital).  Can anybody tell me what my position is and how best to handle this?  My former insurance company have spoken to me but are clear in their policy and have given me no advice.  Many thanks!

Sandie Goodman ● 5042d

Sandie,I have had health insurance for over 30 years,and in that time I have made many,many claims unfortunately,this has led to a lot of interaction with the company and the way that I see it is this.If you had a medical procedure carried out under your policy,you should be able to claim if,you had contacted your policy provider before commencing any treatment and got their agreement that you were covered for that treatment,the surgeon/consultant was recognized by the provider,the hospital you used was listed in the providers hospital directory,You did not withold any relevant information when taking out the policy and that you did not exceed your treatment allowance for that year and that your original referral was from your gp.If you complied with all the above,I don't see how the company could refute your claim.The one thing that does bother me about your posting is you say you paid the company £35,this implies that you may agree that payments are outstanding.This could be a problem.I'm afraid I can't offer anything else going on the information you have provided

Andy Pease ● 5041d

Hi Andy Many thanks for replying to my posting.  I will pm you.All bestSandie

Sandie Goodman ● 5040d

I've reached the sky-high premium stage and can't decide whether to quit and stash the cash for a rainy day or keep paying.  What's other people's current thinking?

Viv Griffiths ● 1957d

The NHS is very good at critical care -- if you have cancer, a heart attack or a stroke. Not so great for other things, which always seem to get pushed back. I don't have insurance and would prefer to put the premiums in a special account and pay privately should the need arise.The OP's parents were paying 5k a year and that was 8 years ago. A couple of year's premiums would pay for quite a lot privately.

Susan Kelly ● 1957d

Stop paying, Save their money for hopefully few rainy days.

Stewart Jones ● 1957d

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Bernard Allen ● 1957d

This is a really tough issue. Having been with PPP for a while, they seemed to refuse my claims because as you get older you come with more ‘baggage, they can argue you have preexisting conditions and they will. , I did self pay for a few years and found that places like Parkside give much cheaper deals to self pay patients. You can negotiate.  But I fear the NHS will be set back post pandemic so I’m thinking of signing up again.  Ways to save money,If you have a second home outside London, it is much cheaper to use that. , use a broker and only  ever claim for major stuff, self pay everything else, like the odd test or consultation.. in short only claim for very major matters to keep the premiums at a minimum.

Jackie Elton ● 1956d