Why there's a half way to going private

Why there's a half way to going private

You don't have to buy expensive medical insurance; vast sums are being poured into improving the NHS and waiting lists are falling fast, or so the government claims.

But when hundreds of people queue at dawn to register for a new NHS dental practice, it's not surprising that an increasing number of people are turning to cash plans to cover the cost.

Recent figures suggest that less than half of adults are registered with an NHS dental practice with two in five dentists refusing to take new NHS patients.

A cash plan is not the same as a private medical insurance policy. They are much cheaper, but only pay a proportion of the bill for items such as a dental filling or contact lenses, as well as paying out set amounts for the duration of an in-patient visit.

Advertisement starts

---

---

Advertisement ends

The big provider of cash plans is HSA, which has around 1.2m customers, although plans are offered by WPA, Health Shield, Standard Life, HSBC, Medicash and Halifax.

Premiums are usually quoted in weekly or monthly amounts. HSA's plans start at £1.35 a week (£70.20 a year) which gives the customer benefits such as £40 towards dental costs, £120 for physiotherapy and osteopathy and a maximum of £320 for a lengthy stay in hospital.

HSA says that subscribers are almost certain to be able to claim under at least one part of the policy in most years, and that the typical customer makes two or three claims a year.

But the drawback is that they do not pay big bills. The high hospital benefits may turn out to be a bit of a mirage; hospitals are under enormous pressure to move patients out as fast as they can, so the pay-outs from the plan will be limited. Some operators have a qualifying period during which you cannot claim, while others may refuse you according to your state of health.

More recently cash plan providers have begun focusing on positive health measures, encouraging customers to try new alternative and complementary therapies such as acupuncture. HSA's plan, for example, includes £480 worth of acupuncture treatment as part of a plan with a premium of £5.40 a week.

· Contacts: Bupa: 0800 001010, Healthsure: 0800 854721, HSA: 0800 085 4321, Medicash: 0151-702 0304, WPA: 0800 783 3783

Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2003