Private Health Insurance and Emergency Health Care

If you’re thinking about taking our private health insurance, but are unsure of what you need and how it could be used. Emergency care is probably among your questions, including whether or not it’s covered by private health insurance.

To help answer that question and any others you might have relating to emergency care and private health insurance, we’ve written this article.

If you want to arrange private health insurance and would like to skip the reading and take positive action, talk to one of the expert advisors we work with.

All the experts we work with are independent financial advisors with far-reaching knowledge and access to insurance providers across the UK. They will be able to answer all your questions and help ensure you get the policy with the best cover at the most competitive price available.

Call 0808 189 0463 or make an enquiry for a free, no-obligation chat.

Does private health insurance include emergency care cover?

No, private health insurance in the UK doesn’t include emergency care cover. If you’re researching medical insurance, you might find the phrase ‘it compliments the NHS but doesn’t replace it’.

Although private health insurance is very useful and can help you get some operations and treatment more quickly, it doesn’t completely replace the NHS, which will always be your first port of call in an emergency.

Even though private medical insurance doesn’t provide emergency care cover, it can be used to make a stay in hospital following an accident or emergency, more comfortable. For example, through your insurance you can gain access to more comfortable or private rooms and beds. It can also ensure you receive the treatment and drugs you need, even if they’re not available on the NHS.

To find out more about getting the right private healthcare insurance and how it can be used in relation to emergency care, it can help to talk to an expert insurance advisor, like those we work with. If you speak with an experienced private health insurance broker they can answer all your questions related to the emergency care and the level of cover you might need.

How does private health insurance work if I’m admitted to hospital through A&E?

If you’re admitted to hospital after an ambulance takes you to accident and emergency, or even if you’ve transported yourself to A&E, you may then be able to make use of your private healthcare insurance cover.

In some cases, your cover might mean you can be moved to a private room within the hospital you’ve been admitted to. It can also mean that any treatment you need, such as an operation or a course of medicine or other treatment, will take place more quickly than it would if you relied solely upon NHS provision.

In some cases, you may need to move to a private hospital in order to receive the required treatment or procedure. The right level of private medical insurance will pay for that and your insurer will make the necessary arrangements.

Would my private health insurance provide an ambulance?

In some cases, yes, private health insurance may provide or pay for a private ambulance. This ambulance provision may be used to take you to and from hospital or even between hospitals if a transfer is required.

However, because private medical insurance doesn’t cover emergency care, it can’t be used to provide or pay for ambulance transportation for an emergency visit to a hospital’s A&E department.

It’s also worth being aware that not all private medical insurance policies will provide a private ambulance and for those policies that do, it may come with a higher monthly or annual premium. That’s because most private healthcare insurance comes in a variety of cover levels:

• Basic
• Medium/Standard
• Comprehensive

As you might expect, the higher the level of private medical insurance cover you want or need, the more expensive it will be.

To find out more about the different levels of private health insurance, it can help to speak with an expert, like those we work with.

Speak with a private health insurance expert

If you’re considering taking out private healthcare cover for yourself, your children or even your entire family, you can find out more about what benefits you would gain from having medical insurance, including details relating to emergency care by talking to one of the expert advisors we work with.

All the experts we work with are independent financial advisors. Make an enquiry or call 0808 189 0463 and we’ll match you with a fully qualified and experienced private healthcare insurance advisor.

An insurance expert can answer all the questions you have about private healthcare cover, ambulance and emergency care provision. The service we offer is free and there’s absolutely no obligation.