Private Health Cover and Complementary Health

Complementary medicine is a growing business in the UK with more and more people looking to have a better quality of life not just when they are sick but in their everyday lives. Treatments are wide-ranging from the well known acupuncture and reflexology through to energy treatments such as Reiki and Colour Therapy. More and more GPs are exploring the area of complementary health and recommending their patients to registered and insured practitioners. Many GPs now even have a counsellor or osteopath as part of their practice team but how does complimentary health sit with the private medical insurance companies?

All four of the top UK medical health insurance companies have provision for alternative/complementary outpatient treatments which have been recommended by a GP. Its interesting to note at this point the different implications of these two words. The Which Guide to Complementary Medicine defines alternative medicine as those therapies which are used in place of orthodox or conventional medicine. Complementary medicine, on the other hand, is regarded as working in conjunction with mainstream medicine. Apart from Standard Life Healthcare which offers alternative treatments for four out of its five Primecare cover plans, the three others (BUPA,AXA PPP and Norwich Union Healthcare) offer health cover on these treatments only on their most comprehensive plans. The specific treatments which are covered will be stated in the details of the medical insurance policy documents but the main treatments included are:

Acupuncture
Physiotherapy
Homeopathy
Chiropractic
Osteopathy

If you have private health insurance that covers complementary therapies, the insurers usually require that the practitioner holds a certain level of qualification and that you are referred by your GP. This means that you will have very little choice from the large number of complementary treatments available. A flexible alternative is offered by the medical insurance company, Freedom Healthcare Services. In most cases they settle out-patient bills directly but for other treatments they offer a unique cash reimbursement straight into your bank account following authorization of your in-patient claim. This means that if you decide, for example, to have your operation with the NHS you can use your claim money for anything else that you want, including your own choice of complementary treatments if you feel that would best benefit your health and wellbeing.

Visit the British Complementary Medicine Association for a list of qualified and registered practitioners.