Paying twice for the same thing...

May 2, 2007 4:08 AM

Private Health in the UK: Is it worth it and how can I get the cost down?

I want to have some metalwork taken out of my leg, because it hurts a bit, but primarily because I want to join the army reserves, and having any metalwork in my leg prevents me from doing so. I saw the specialist today and either I wait 6 months for the NHS to take it out for free or I pay £2000...

Is there an easy way for me to get other quotes for the work or to bring the cost down? Is health tourism worth considering? Any suggestions appreciated...

posted by prentiz to Health & Fitness (6 answers total)

I bet you get a million USians telling you something weird.
Anyway, you can make this decision yourself. Is a faster result worth the cash? Flying to Thailand or even some european countries for elective treatment won't reduce the cost that much (perhaps 1000 quid all up) versus a 6 month wait.
When I lived in the UK I had BUPA, which I never made a claim on, I would have rathered the cash.
Generally speaking, health cover isn't worth it for a one off treatment that would be covered under public insurance.
I appreciate a 6 month delay might seem a lot, but hey, revel in the fact you have the option for free, after tax, public health care.
In another country you could have no option and a 5000 bill.
posted by bystander at 4:26 AM on May 2, 2007

I get free BUPA through my job. For me it was totally worth it when I needed a big operation nearly 4 years ago. If I'd had it done on the NHS, I'd have had to wait 2 years. Under BUPA it was done within weeks, in a private hospital, by the same surgeon I'd have seen on the NHS, and it turned out that there were some abnormalities that wouldn't have shown up on the usual tests and scans until it was at the point of being untreatable and terminal. So, for me, private health care was a life saver, and by using BUPA, I freed up a bed in the NHS for someone else.

I don't think you'll get much of a lower quote if you shop around - for any surgery, most of the expense is in the anasthetic and aftercare. The surgeon's bill for cutting out a bit of shrapnel isn't likely to vary much from doctor to doctor.
posted by essexjan at 4:40 AM on May 2, 2007

The NHS is great in emergencies but for stuff like this it's awful. Last year my brother had to pay for his own MRI scan to get *diagnosed* with a torn cruciate ligament, and either wait a year for an operation or go private again for a quick fix. He bit the bullet and it cost him £4000. Apparently the fact that walking was agony still didnt make him an "emergency case".

Anyhoo, if you can handle the pain and don't mind the wait, save the cash. On the other hand, maybe £2000 isn't too much to spend to get fixed??
posted by cardamine at 6:59 AM on May 2, 2007

The surgeon's prices are pretty much fixed by the insurance company, but as a non-insured customer you can sometimes get a discount. The fees for the private hospital vary, and it would usually be cheapest to get the op done in the private wing of an NHS hospital. However £2000 already sounds like a something of a bargain, it's hard to get even the most minor op involving a general anaesthetic for less than £1000. You can shop around, but every time you go for an assessment with a new surgeon you'll get stung with a new consultation fee.
posted by roofus at 11:22 AM on May 2, 2007

You might also look into seeing if you can get a surgeon in another part of the UK to do the operation, someplace where the wait will be shorter. A friend of mine did this a few years ago when she was waiting for a knee operation. She wound up seeing a doctor in Cornwall to have the work done there and waited 3 weeks as opposed to 8 months.
posted by yellowcandy at 1:35 AM on May 3, 2007

I paid almost double that for a similar operation in the UK, I think it was worth it.
A few things to consider:
- NHS waiting lists can be very variable, that 6 month wait could easily increase to a year or more.
- Private hospitals are *much* cleaner
- Will the delay cost you more than £2K in lost earnings?
- Will the delay make your condition worse?
posted by Lanark at 1:12 PM on May 3, 2007