The Cheapest Health Insurance

With many families still feeling the pinch of the recession cheap health insurance is something that they are still interested in. In order to find good deals and quicly compare what is available the best way forward is to look on comparison sites such as comparethemarket.com or moneysupermarket.com.

Not all sites carry policies from all providers however so it is worth looking at all available comparison sites to see what there is. With moneysupermarket.com for example Freedom Healthnet provides the cheapest health insurance at £17.98 a month for a 40 year old, non-smoking, man living in Northampton to have Freedom Gold Inpatient medical insurance. Comparethemarket.com however does not use Freedom Healthnet at all.

The advantage of looking on comparison sites is that you can compare like for like policies quickly and easily. Health insurance policies are getting better but they are legal documents which can be quite complicated and detailed.

An alternative method when you are looking for cheap health insurance is to go online to each company and look at what they quote you. It is important to be honest at this stage when you answer questions online so that you get a realistic quotation. Private medical insurance companies will need to ask you several questions online so that they can give you an accurate quote:

• Your age
• Your sex
• Where you live
• Whether you smoke

Some companies also ask you about medical conditions you may have, for example, if you are diabetic. Looking online will enable you to look at each companies documents in order to assess what cover you might need.

The disadvantage of online quotes is that they cannot be totally accurate. On the whole they do not take account of your medical or family history for example, all of which will affect your cover.

Some companies, for example, Bupa, are unwilling to give online quotes as they say that talking to people individually is a better way to assess their needs and therefore to give them an accurate quote.

An alternative way of looking for cheap health insurance is to go to an independent advisor. However bare in mind that they take commission from health insurance companies for selling their policies. Additionally not all independent advisors will know about every policy.

Health Cover Survey

According to Deloitte's 2010 Survey of Health Care Consumers only a quarter of respondents said they felt they had enough health cover: four out of five said they were only 'adequately insured.'

The Deloitte survey looked at 1,000 British adults in order to find out consumer attitudes about both private and NHS medical treatment. Over a third of respondents said that they had cash plan cover but despite people's dissatisfaction with the amount of cover they had only 2% had switched private health insurance plans. 58% of those who had changed plan did so to get better value for money.

One of the biggest complaints about medical insurance was the fact that 'experimental' treatments were not covered. Experimental treatments refer to those that do not yet have enough data behind them to certify them as conclusively effective. PruHealth, for example, do cover experimental treatments as part of their plans. This is unusual however. 69% of respondents said that they would be prepared to try experimental treatments.

The findings seem to support the health insurance market's move towards illness prevention. Over half of respondents said they had a 'strong interest' in taking part in wellness programmes and 49% said they would take part in healthy living programmes if they could get reduced private medical insurance.

NHS
The NHS didn't fair too badly in the Deloitte survey. 67% of respondents said that they were 'happy' with the NHS. 50% said that it was 'average', a fifth said that it was 'failing' but only 2% said that it was excellent. The most dissatisfaction concerned waiting times which 46% of respondents felt was 'poor' and the amount of accessible information about doctor's performance where 42% felt that it was poor.

CT Scan Crackdown

Health screening is something that is generally considered to be a good thing in medicine. Early detection of problems can mean that serious illness can be avoided or limited. Some private medical insurance companies, for example, PruHealth even encourage their customers to have health screens by giving them decreased premiums if they take part. However recent controversies over private health screening are putting the practise into the spotlight.

Computerised tomography (CT) scans give detailed 3D x-ray type images but the government has announced new regulations that will limit the use of these scans by health screen providers. The new regulations have come about as a result of a desire to protect the public.

CT scans are used as routine MOT tools even though they emit 400 times the amount of radiation than that of a normal x-ray. The Department of Health wants the benefits of using this method of investigation to outweigh the risk of radiation. When going through the NHS the GP has control over whether patients are referred for CT scans but this does not apply in the open market of private health screening.

Currently private health companies have been able to use CT scans as a general screening tool but the new rules will prevent them from being used for spinal conditions, osteoporosis and body fat assessment. The new rules bring the use of CT scans in private health into line with NHS protocols.

Responsible providers are already showing caution. Bupa for example will only take an xray of the lungs if there are symptoms that would warrant it.

Choosing Corporate Health Insurance for Cancer

If you are an employee you may be considering health insurance. If you are considering it or already have a policy for your employees look into the level of cancer insurance they cover.

Cancer is very prevalent in the UK and 90,000 people of working age are diagnosed with it every year. Many companies offer their employees health care insurance. However many are not aware of the level of cancer cover that they have.

The most important thing is to be informed when you are making purchasing decisions and to be aware that not all health insurance for cancer is the same.

Some of the cheapest health insurance policies offer scant cover and few offer a comprehensive policy that protects your employees at all stages of their cancer. Most private medical insurance policies have limits.

There are various questions that you need to ask:

• Is cancer covered?
• Is there a time limit on the policy?
• Can we extend the cancer cover?
• Can employees extend their cover individually?
• Are any treatments excluded?
• If an employee has had cancer already, will they be excluded from the policy?
• Where would employees with cancer be treated?
• Does the policy provide additional benefits, for example counselling, complementary therapies, anti-nausea and steroid medication, wig provision, ?

All health insurance policies should have a specific section which explain their cancer cover. As an employer you need to have an understanding of what is covered and what is not.

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) requires each provider to show an example of a cancer scenario to help explain their cover. This is a useful tool in understanding what is covered and what is not. Ask the insurer to show you their example.

Above all inform yourself of the best options for you and your employees and have a comprehensive understanding of the policy that you choose.

Snowy Danger

With the latest snowy weather creating havoc in many parts of the UK, accidents and injuries are a problem for hospitals and the ambulance services. People who hurt themselves during this weather have to seek emergency treatment but unfortunately this is not covered by private medical insurance.

With the weather set to get worse before it gets better, the NHS are preparing for more victims of the snow and ice. Resources have been stretched to the limit and earlier this week two hospitals, Coventry's University Hospital and the Hospital of St Cross in Rugby, suspended non-urgent operations because of the crisis.

NHS statistics show that over 7,000 people every year are admitted to hospital every year after falling on snow or ice. Between 2008 and 2009, 7,641 people went into hospital after a snow-related accident.

The impact of these figures is felt in the private health sector too with extra referrals to hospitals and consultants.

However private health insurance is not intended to cover accidents and emergencies in the UK. These are always treated by the NHS. Once a patient has been treated and assessed they can then be referred to private treatment under the terms of their health insurance. Moving a patient for private treatment will only be a viable option if the patient is stable enough to do so.

Some patients do decide to stay with the NHS. It can seem easier to go back to the hospital that treated you particularly if you are happy with your treatment and the waiting times offered by the consultant there.

Good Levels of Satisfaction

In previous years the health insurance industry had a bad reputation for high levels of customer dissatisfaction. This image has improved and the UK now has one of the most reliable medical insurance industries in the world.

The poor image that health insurance had was not totally unfounded. The main complaints were about people not being able to get their treatments covered when they had been expecting to do so.

Policy definitions and procedures have now been tightened. It was inevitable. The medical insurance industry's reputation was being tarnished by sensational reports of unfair treatment in the tabloids.

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) who have most private medical insurance companies as part of their membership, took the lead in generating guidelines which were fairer to consumers. The industry on the whole has adopted its proposals and the statistics reflect higher levels of customer satisfaction.

Non-disclosure
One of the main problems occurred because of health insurance non-disclosure. Now companies have developed better ways to avoid this. Non-disclosure refers to customers not giving the full medical facts about their history. This can come about for several reasons including health insurance companies not asking the right questions in the right way when they are taking details from a new customer.

Evidence of non-disclosure can invalidate a claim. And this is where problems can really get out of hand.

The ABI proposed that customers had to be treated fairly despite problems with non-disclosure. Instead of ruling a claim to be null and void they proposed that part-claims could be honoured depending on the nature of the non-disclosure.

Standard Life Healthcare, for example, have integrated the Treating Customers Fairly diective into their company policies:

'We believe that the Treating Customers Fairly (TCF) principles-based initiative by the Financial Service Authority (FSA) in the United Kingdom is complementary to our approach to all our customers. TCF requires us to assess and monitor our performance against our customer values in a robust way. To do this we have established a group TCF policy with standards that Standard Life group’s UK Business Units1 must adhere to in relation to the six TCF outcomes.'

Complaints
When people are not happy with the treatment they receive from a health insurance company they can follow the company's complaints procedure. If they are still not happy they can take the matter to Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).

FOS have final say over whether a claim is upheld or not and they regularly publish their statistics. This makes health insurance companies accountable. If they have high rates of upheld complaints this filters through to the media.

Since the changes in the medical insurance industry complaints to the FOS have declined and so have the number of cases that are upheld.

Currently according to Melissa Collet from FOS only 1% of insurance complaints were about health insurance and only 31% of complaints are upheld whereas overall in the insurance industry the figure stands at 70%.

Only 514 complaint cases out of 127,471 were about private medical health insurance. Melissa Collet congratulated the industry on its low levels of complaints. This is very reassuring for those with health cover or those considering taking it out.

How to Make a Health Insurance Claim

In order to make a health insurance claim it is very important to follow the correct procedure for each company.Doint this helps speed up your claim and avoid misunderstandings.

Having a good knowledge of your policy is probably the first step. Having an awareness of what you are and are not covered for will help you to have the correct expectations of your private medical insurance cover.

Your policy will also have specific details of how to make a claim. Being familiar with your policy claims proceedure is important as there are variations in what health insurance companies need to you to do in order to make a claim. Errors can cause distressing delays and misunderstandings.

The following details are a general guideline only.

The GP is always your first port of call. They are the ones that refer you for a consultation or treatment if they think this is necessary. You need to inform them that you would like to go via your medical insurance.

Normally your insurance company will provide you with a list of approved hospital networks and practitioners with which you will be covered under your policy. Your GP needs to refer you to establishments or individuals that will be accepted by your insurer.

Some companies, for example Bupa, will allow you to go to hospitals which are not on their approved lists but will not cover you completely for treatment there. They will give you an allowance instead. If the hospital you go to charges more then you have to pay for the difference.

The next step is to call your insurance company. They will let you know whether the treatment you need is covered by your policy. They will also advise you as to whether they can approve your chosen practitioner.

The insurance company may also then send you a claim form which you need to fill in and return to them. The next step depends on whether you have a moratorium or fully underwritten policy. If you insurance cover is under a moratorium policy then the insurance company sometimes need check your medical history with your GP to make sure that you are covered for treatment for the condition you are presenting with. This can delay their response.

When you go for your consultation or treatment you need to take your health cover details with you and show them to your consultant. In most cases this enables your health insurance company to be billed and not you.

With some types of health insurance policy you are given money directly by the insurer and then you are responsible for paying for your healthcare directly. This is unusual however and in most cases the medical insurance company pays.

If your consultant sends you for tests or hospital treatment you have to contact your private health insurance company again in order to check that the proposed treatments are covered.

When you go to hospital or for treatment you need to present your health insurance documents so that your bills are sent straight to the insurance company. After you have completed your treatment you will only have to pay for any outstanding personal expenses such as guest meals, telephone calls and newspapers.

If you have had any treatment that is not covered under your policy you will also have to pay for this. Normally your medical insurance company will alert you to the fact that you have an outstanding balance.

If you feel that your health insurance company should pay for something and they are saying that it is not covered, you do have redress. You can appeal to the company to review your claim. If you are still not happy you can complain via their official complaints procedure. If you are still not happy with the outcome you can take if further to the Financial Services Ombudsman.

Worrying Dr Foster Report

As perceptions of the increased quality of NHS medical care improves, the reasons for people opting for private health insurance change. Currently people cite concerns over cleanliness in the NHS as their main reason for choosing private medical insurance. However a recent report highlights that there are great variations in the safety performance of NHS trusts and that patients may be at far greater risk depending on where they live in the country.

The Dr Foster Hospital Guide for 2009 that looked at patient safety said that 27 NHS trusts have a significantly high death rate. 5,024 people with low risk problems died in UK hospitals during 2009.

Roger Taylor, director and co-founder of Dr Foster, an independent organisation said:

'Over the last nine years of the Hospital Guide we have seen a steady improvement in hospital performance but unacceptable variation between hospitals still exists. Dr Foster will continue to publish data in order to provide information to the public, drive improvement in patient care and save lives.

'Hospital trusts should use the Guide to carefully investigate where problems exist, even those who have performed well. Patients and the public should use the Hospital Guide to help make choices about where they want to be treated, to ask the right questions of their health professionals and to hold hospitals to account.'

Dr Foster Guides provide detailed information about NHS hospital treatments and conditions in the UK.

Some other alarming facts from the report are:

• 82 patients were operated on the wrong part of their body
• 1 in 5 trusts do not check patients admitted through A&E for MRSA
• 478 operations were cancelled in 2008/09 because patient notes were missing
• 848 people who died after being admitted with ‘low-risk’ conditions were under the age of 65
• Over 8,000 more operations could have been performed last year if hospitals had treated all hip fractures
  

GP's Tight For Time

How GP's operate is very important when it comes to private medical insurance. The GP is the first port of call if you want to be referred privately and what the GP says will be taken on face value by the health insurance company. Worrying evidence shows that GP's are so hard-pressed for time that sometimes they are failing to even make eye contact with their patients.

A poll of 600 GP's conducted by Pulse, a GP magazine, found that many GPs thought that consultations should be longer despite the fact that 55% of them said that consultation length has increased in the last few years. 60% thought that the average consultation should increase to 14 minutes from 11 and and 60% said that consultations should be between 10 and 15 minutes. 35% said they should be over 15 minutes long.

Four out of ten doctors who responded to their questionnaire said that there was so much admin to do during a consultation that they could not look at patients whilst they were talking to them. This happened because of the large amounts of administration that they have to complete in order to meet government standards and satisfy the trusts.

One solution offered to the problem is for GP's to become part of larger teams with other health professionals being trained in performing routine tasks. Professor Field says:

‘GPs will have to have longer consultations. We will be looking at 15 to 20 minute consultations and a lot of the volume of minor illnesses will be done by physician’s assistants working in a rules-based way and nurses.

‘GPs will need to be brave and work in larger, federated healthcare teams to take on this challenge.’

Dr Grant Ingrams, chair of GPC West Midlands suggests more delegation within healthcare practices:

'Sit down with your colleagues and decide the best way to do it. Discuss this with the other staff, even the receptionists - do they need to be doing all the things they are doing, and could they be doing other things instead?’

The implications of the poll are that GP's do not have enough time with their patients and this is worrying.

18 Week Waiting Lists

Private medical insurance enables people to get prompt medical treatment for acute conditions. Early treatment of many conditions does not only decrease anxiety and suffering but also increases a patient's long term wellbeing and medical outcomes. This week health secretary Andy Burhnam, has caused a political controversy by telling the Sunday Telegraph that Labour plan to treat patients via the private sector if they have been on a waiting list for longer than 18 weeks.

18 weeks is still a very long time in health insurance terms. As covered by Health Insurance News UK there are policies which offer a six week option. This means that if the NHS cannot treat you within six weeks then you can be treated under the terms of your medical insurance. Apart from this kind of policy most health insurance clients are seen rapidly.

Some people object to NHS patients being treated in private health establishments claiming that it is unfair that they are paying for health cover yet the same kind of treatment is being given away for free to NHS patients.

However the partnership between the private sector and the NHS has been in existence for quite some time with many claims being made that it costs the NHS less money to contract operations out to private medicine than it does to open up theatres during weekends. In the last few years private health providers have increased their involvement with the NHS. A recent survey found that in 2007 53,500 inpatient and day patients were treated in private establishments but the figures rose to 151,000 in 2008. This represented 16% of total volume in mainstream independent hospitals

The new government directive will be passed as law. Mr Burnham said:

'This will be a key battleground for the next election. This is about embedding patient rights and will prevent a return to the days when people languished on waiting lists under a Tory government.'

Overall the government target of 18 week maximum waiting lists has been achieved. Its an improvement but far from being an ideal. The extra legal incentive for hospitals to comply or otherwise be forced to pay for private treatment will supposedly encourage trusts to find ways to improve waiting lists times.

More Cleaners Improve MRSA Rates

According to a study published in BMC Medicine just one extra cleaner who targeted cleaning methods on a hospital ward can save lives and money.

UNISON the UK's largest public service union were the sponsors of the study. Dave Prentis, general secretary of UNISON, said:

'The number of cleaners employed by the NHS has been cut almost in two since the 80s and patients have paid the price. Armed with this evidence, UNISON will be arguing that every cleaner plays an invaluable part in the control of infections and employing more in the NHS is a win, win situation - lives are saved as well as much needed NHS money.'

Targeted cleaning involves focusing on areas close to patient's beds and the areas around them, for example, lockers, trays, buzzers and curtains. The main focus of attention in the past has been on handwashing to prevent infection spreading from person to person but of course an infected patient is just as likely to touch the environment around them.

Lack of hygiene is what contributes to the spread of dangerous and infectious diseases such as MRSA and C'Difficile in hospitals. It is thought that at the hospital where the research took place between five and nine patients lives were saved just because of the implementation of a new cleaner. There was a 32.5% reduction in contamination. Cases of MRSA fell in the six months that the cleaner was on a ward and then increased again when they left. The ward that the cleaner moved to then saw improved rates.

Additionally the savings to the hospital were thought to be in the region of between £30,000 and £70,000.

The study concluded:

'This study has shown that one additional cleaner on two surgical wards over one year can have an impact on the microbial contamination of high risk hand touch sites. There is a suggestion that the number of new MRSA infections were reduced relative to the level of MRSA patient days.'

Better cleanliness in private hospitals is one of the main reasons sited for people choosing to take out private medical insurance.

Alcohol and Health Insurance

Drinking alcohol, even in small quantities, according to some, can have an adverse affect on your health. In fact over-drinking is a big problem in the UK. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) have come out this week in support of a minimum price per unit for alcohol to act as a deterrent to over-consumption. For health insurance companies alcohol consumption is one factor which they take into account when working out your medical insurance premiums.

There is currently a great focus on sensible drinking from all sources and many (not the government however) do agree that hitting drinker's wallets is one way to reduce the levels of drinking. The NICE proposals were welcomed by Professor Gilmore, president of the Royal College of Physicians:

'I'm delighted that Nice has looked at the evidence and come to this conclusion. Despite the prime minister having ruled out minimum unit pricing, Nice's draft guidance will put this firmly back on the political agenda.

'Research shows that this does not disadvantage the majority who drink responsibly, despite the prime minister saying that it does, but instead targets those who are drinking at levels damaging to their health.'

Modern health insurance companies focus on prevention. They encourage a healthy lifestyle and one of the factors they focus on is moderate drinking. Some companies, namely PruHealth and Aviva reward healthy lifestyles with reductions in premiums.

With the effects of alcohol becoming a major health problem in the UK its financial effects are being felt in the health insurance industry. Private medical insurance companies are beginning to increase premiums for those who drink a higher than average number of alcohol units a week.

Kevin Carr, head of protection strategy at LifeSearch, said that increasing premiums in relation to alcohol consumption could lead to higher cases on non-disclosure (people not being honest in their application forms). He said:

'Alcohol consumption is very difficult to measure – it is not like smoking where you either do or you don’t. If people put down an honest consumption of, say, 30 units a week and then get quoted higher premiums, it could encourage people to lie about their alcohol intake.'

Despite this it is thought that in the future more companies will penalise those who drink more. According to Health Insurance magazine, Paul Keeble, from Standard Life, said that it is possible that someone who drinks more than 30 units a week will be asked by their insurer to supply a report from their doctor.

Private health insurance companies are also very clear in the policies when it comes to dealing with health problems that are related to alcohol abuse. In a nutshell they do not provide cover in these circumstances and it will always be included in the policy exclusion list. Aviva for example word it thus in their list of exclusions under What is Not Covered:

• Alcoholism, alcohol abuse, solvent abuse, drug abuse and other addictive conditions.

Unless there are significant changes in drinking behaviour in the UK then all health insurance companies will need to focus on how they will tackle the issue of alcohol consumption and most likely they will have to increase premiums for those who drink above the recommended limits in order to cover the increased costs of health care that they will need.

US & UK Health Insurance

There are many differences in the provision between the US and the UK. One of the main differences is the balance of provision between private and state-funded health care. The US is now looking around the world to find ways in which to improve the access of its poorest people to health care.

Even though the United States spends more per capita on health care than any other country there are many complaints that the poorest people are not receiving adequate care. Funds for private health insurance are provided by the Government, employers and private medical insurance but for country relies totally on private health insurance 15% of the population do not have it.

In the UK only 12% of people have private health insurance and the NHS treats all its citizens free at the point of care.

The main practical differences between the two countries are that people complain of non-existent or bad provision for those with very low income in the US whereas in the UK all people have equal access to excellent services.

Critics of the proposed Obama healthcare reforms have slammed the NHS, saying that it is no better than the US system but in America some sections of society do not go to the doctor if they are ill as they will not be able to pay for expensive medical bills and this is never an issue in the UK.

The second difference is that there is a lot less private medical insurance here in the UK. There are always fluctuations in the market depending on the state of the economy and the public perception of the NHS.

Recent changes mean that in the UK private and NHS medical provision are blending in a way that was not previously the case. The NHS uses private services and hospitals for some of its workload because they find it more cost effective and people who have NHS treatment are able to 'top-up' with private healthcare under some circumstances.

Some people are opposed to this merging of services and fear that we are moving towards the US model which discriminates against its more vulnerable citizens.

In the meantime the US looks for a better model. The Obama critics look to the UK and warn that we have a poor system of healthcare. What we know is that we have an NHS, which may not be perfect, which works well for all its citizens most of the time and a private health insurance sector which provides a good alternative.

A Healthier Workplace

A healthier workplace means that employees are happier and more productive. Everybody wins. A recent independent study by health insurance company, PruHealth reveals that British companies are taking health in the workplace more seriously than ever before.

Almost 90 per cent of larger companies offer health benefits to their workforce as more and more senior executives and company bosses are realising the impact of a physically and mentally healthy workforce.

Top 4 initiatives offered by larger businesses:

1. Free/ discounted gym membership - 53%
2. Flu jabs - 52%
3. Free private medical insurance - 50%
4. Access to counselling - 50%

Top 3 initiatives offered by small and medium sized businesses:

1. Free fruit/ healthy meal options - 12%
2. Free private medical insurance - 12%
3. Exercise classes/ sports club - 9%

PruHealth, are themselves committed to improving health through their Vitality medical insurance scheme which rewards their private medical insurance clients with reduced premiums if they carry out a range of health enhancing activities.

Shaun Matisonn, CEO of PruHealth said:

'When it comes to health and wellbeing programmes in the workplace, we are seeing a turning point in UK businesses. The provision of these programmes and investment in employee health are no longer peripheral issues, they are core concerns. Not only are employees demanding these types of employee benefits, but with the pressures of the current economic environment, fostering a healthy workforce has never been more important to help aid both morale and productivity.

'Having now built this momentum, companies must be careful not to throw money away on poorly executed health and wellness strategies. It is all very well having these programmes in place, but employee engagement must be actively and continuously encouraged. It is understandable that employee numbers in small and medium-sized firms may be an obstacle to putting together a football team or exercise classes, but there are lots of smaller-scale initiatives to get staff involved, such as using pedometers and providing fruit bowls.

PruHealth’s Vitality incentive programme enables smaller companies to provide a full ‘blue-chip’ range of healthy activities for employees as part of their corporate PMI, enabling companies of all sizes to benefit from a healthier workforce.'

GP's not Referring

In the world of private health insurance the GP is normally your first port of call. If they feel that you need a hospital referral or that you need tests then they will refer you to a private consultant who will help you very quickly. Unfortunately recent evidence shows that GPS's delay in referring patients for early investigations.

Researchers from the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) were asked to carry out an audit of cancer diagnosis. The study which was published in the British Medical Journal found that GPs should consider referring more patients for investigations to ensure that cancer is diagnosed earlier. Late diagnosis has been blamed for the UK's poor cancer survival rates compared to other countries.

762,325 patients from 128 GP practices were studied. Researchers were looking at patients who had the following symptoms:

Blood in urine
Coughing blood
Difficulty swallowing
Rectal bleeding

They reviewed their diagnoses after 90 days and then three years. After 90 days one out of 4-7 patients were correctly diagnosed and three years later half of these patients did not have a correct diagnosis.

Despite these disappointing results diagnostic times have improved over the last few years but for patients who are not diagnosed properly it is too little too late.

There must be pressure on the NHS to not waste money. Many GP's use a 'wait and see' policy for patients when they first come into the surgery with symptoms. It is of concern that in the near future public spending will be cut and that this may affect the situation. Study leader Professor Roger Jones said:

'GPs in the NHS are seen as the gatekeepers and there is a bit of a feeling that they should restrict access. This is about investigating the right patients sooner - perhaps have a slightly lower threshold for it than before.'

It is not clear from the study whether GP's delay in referring only NHS patients or whether the same applies for private medical insurance patients. Either way early diagnosis is vital to improving cancer survival rates.

The advice for those who use the NHS and those who have general medical insurance or health insurance for cancer is to push the issue of testing with your GP. Insist you have the tests or are referred to a specialist.

30 Years of the Six Week Option

The six week option is offered by some private medical insurance companies as a way of keeping insurance premium costs down. This is the 30th anniversary of this popular product option.

The six week option was introduced in 1979 by Dudley Lusted from AXA PPP Healthcare as part of a health insurance plan that was more affordable. With this type of plan customers agree to have treatment on the NHS if they can be seen within a six week window. If not then they are seen privately as normal.

Today a quarter of AXA medical insurance clients use the six week option. Lusted said:

'People don’t mind using the NHS if they can get in. There is nothing wrong with the health service but there are large waiting lists. The logic is that if you have to wait for treatment, this is the plan for you,” he explains.'

Aviva and Standard Life are the only other private medical insurance providers that offer the six week option. Kevin Murdoch, senior proposition development manager at Aviva Healthcare says that the six week option can reduce premiums by up to 20%. The recession has created a greater interest in this type of product. Murdoch says:

'The six week option is a great way of reducing costs and making PMI more affordable. While PMI sales are up year-on-year, we have seen an increase in enquiries from customers about how to reduce costs. They still want PMI but they want to reduce their premium, and the six week plan is a good way to do this. Everyone is strapped for cash at the moment.'

Although NHS waiting lists have been getting shorter and shorter they have only recently reached their target of 18 weeks. This type of plan reduces your waiting time by a third.

On the downside, if you are admitted to an NHS hospital as an emergency on this type of policy you cannot then transfer as a private patient which is different to other health insurance policies. You must stay within the NHS for your treatment.

One common misconception about six week plans is that you have to wait six weeks before you see a consultant. This is not the case. You can see a private consultant straight away. It is only if you need treatment that the six-week option comes into play.

The NHS is likely to see a slow down on spending in the coming years which could increase waiting times once more and the six week option plans are likely to increase in popularity if this occurs.

US & UK Combat Health Insurance Fraud

Health insurance fraud is a problem across the world and ultimately it affects the average customer because it forces up medical insurance premiums. But now there could be hope for an international effort to combat it.

British health insurance companies have signed an agreement, a Memorandum of Understanding, with US companies that aims to tackle healthcare fraud in the UK, US and across the world. One of its functions will be to share information and systems will be set up in order that incidences of fraud can be reported. Another aim of the agreement is to raise international awareness of the issues involved.

Health insurance fraud is:

'Intentional act of deceiving, concealing, or misrepresenting information that results in health care benefits being paid to an individual or group.'

Fraud can be committed by both members, providers and brokers. Private medical insurance members can defraud in many ways including the deliberate concealment of pre-existing conditions and not declaring other types of cover.

Providers can defraud health insurance companies by charging for unnecessary or unauthorised treatments.

The UK has The Health Insurance Counter Fraud Group (HICF) which is an industry led organisation whose aims are to counter health care and health insurance fraud. They have eleven members:

PruHealth
AXA PPP healthcare
BUPA
Aviva
WPA
Standard Life Healthcare
Exeter Friendly
Groupama
CS Healthcare
Simply Health
CIGNA

The HICF moto is: 'It is Fraud to conceal fraud'

Their website depicts several fraud case studies which show the breadth of the problem including a case where a GP lied to an insurance company about a patients cancer claim. The GP supported the patients claim that their cancer way new wheras in fact the GP has been investigation the patients for cancer for quite some time.

Standard Life to Loose Jobs

There are mixed reports as to how much the recession has affected private medical insurance companies. However Standard Life Healthcare announced last month that they have to loose another 60 employees. The company line is that the changes are designed to improve efficiency in the business but how will it affect Standard Life Healthcare customers?

In April this year they cut customer service and back office jobs as part of the restructuring of the marketing function.

There are different reports as to the impact the recession is having on the medical insurance sector but at an industry conference Standard Life Healthcare's director Laurent Pochat-Cottilloux said that the private health insurance business could as a whole could loose 650,000 jobs by the end of 2012 unless the economy improved and the sector restructured their offerings.

A spokesperson for the company said that the job losses were not just because of the recession:

'All changes are the result of improved operational efficiencies and will not impact on service levels.'

What about the customer? Will claims take longer to process?

Currently in many companies the customer is not King as he once used to be in the UK. Health Insurance Awards are given out every year by Health Insurance Magazine. Winners of the customer services awards last year were BCWA followed by runners-up, Bupa and Norwich Union Healthcare. These companies are recognised as providing excellent customer services.

Standard Life Healthcare were the winners of the best customer service category for five years running previous to this (2002-2007). Will they be able to win again with their new 'operational efficiencies?'

The Standard Life Healthcare job cuts follow similar propositions in AXA PPP Healthcare were health cover staff members have been offered the choice of taking a paycut, losing members of staff or missing out on bonuses. It remains to be seen whether other health insurance companies will announce more job loses before we see an upturn in economic recovery and whether this will have an effect on the level of service that customers receive.

Looking for Cancer Care

Cancer care and prevention are improving and the cancer statistics show that the survival rates in the NHS and the private medical insurance sector have improved a great deal even since the 1990's. Vast amounts of research on prevention and early detection have helped arrest cancer. Additionally there have been huge developments in drugs and treatments.

Of course the improvement of cancer services comes at a cost. Research and treatments are expensive. This affects not just the NHS but the private health insurance sector too. Some companies are concerned that treatment expectations are becoming so high that customers will not be willing to pay for the higher costs of premiums that will inevitably come. There is speculation that health insurance for cancer will become a thing of the past.

Most cancer cover only provides cover whilst there is a chance that you will survive the disease but will not cover palliative care.

Health insurance policies vary a lot, from the giant PruHealth which offers the most comprehensive cancer care policy through to providers such as Freedom Healthnet Ltd which offer cheap health insurance for cancer where you get to decide where and how you spend your insurance money.

Over the next few weeks we will be looking at different providers of cancer health insurance to see what they are offering in their policies. We will also be looking at the costs of different treatments if you choose to go privately and pay for your care up front. Finally we will be looking overall at the future for cancer care in this country and whether our high expectations can be met both by the NHS and the health insurance sector.

Female CEO for Freedom

As reported by Health Insurance News women at the top levels of business are still in the minority. Freedom Healthnet however has a woman, Nahid Salehi as its chief executive officer.

Nahid Salehi launched Freedom Healthnet's private medical insurance policies in 2003 with the aim of providing the best health insurance whilst still keeping costs down.

Freedom provide traditional health insurance cover but instead of paying for your treatment they pay you. And then you can do as you wish with the money.

'We give them the freedom to our clients to choose when and where they want to have treatment. They can go anywhere in the world,' said Ms Nahid.

Currently Freedom offer three levels of cover and are still providing one of the cheapest private medical insurance on the market. You arrange your own treatment which can be at home or abroad. Alternatively you can choose to be treated by the NHS and keep the money to use as you wish. Premium costs are kept low because their administration costs are low.