What benefits would private health insurance offer?
In Britain we have a fantastic National Health service which offers us great healthcare for free. As tax payers we pay in order to receive free health care, so why have private health insurance (PKV) too? Can it really be of benefit in a country where we have free healthcare. Well it all depends on how far you want to go in ensuring your health.
The National Health service is truly one of the best services out there, America does not have an NHS and is reliant on people obtaining medical insurance, without medical insurance people cannot even have a doctors appointment, as it costs every time you go to the doctors, hospital and for any drugs you may need to treat a condition. Although you are entitled to NHS treatment as a tax payer, the waiting times on certain things such as MRI scans and CT scans are still at a high. The government have brought in a new initiative called choose and book where the patient can choose where to have their treatment, and although this has brought down the waiting lists on many operations such as knee and hip operations, there is still a wait for scanning. So if you were suffering from headaches and worried about your health and needed an MRI scan then this is where private health insurance could come in useful. Although don’t be fooled many people think that because they have private health insurance they don’t need a referral from a doctor and that they can simply self refer for private health treatment. This is not the case, a referral letter from a doctor or consultant is still required to get treatment. If you are needing an MRI scan you will need a referral letter just the same. A scan cannot be performed without a referral letter stating the patients symptoms. It is also worth noting that private hospitals cannot do full body scans on the MRI scanner either, it would simply take too long. It takes around half an hour for each body part to be imaged.
Before taking out any private health insurance it is well worth shopping around the market, to find the cover which is best for you. If you are still unsure as to whether private health insurance is for you or not, why not check out one of the many blogs and social networking sites for more of an insight.