Hi folks
My mother is on her mid 70s and her health is deteriorating, and I want to have some sort of health cover for her. The type of cover I am looking for is: Getting seen by a family/hospital doctor asap if she falls ill, i.e. without having to wait in a queue, similarly, if she needs to be operated on or need some sort of medication then this can be done asap without having to wait in a queue. Lastly, if something happens to fall ill at home, I want the ambulance service to give her priority and come to her in order to either give her some sort of medication or take her to hospital asap.
Is there a name given to this type of insurance? If so, can you suggest any reputable insurers?
Thanks in advance for your cooperation.
Hi I'm afraid I don't have much knowledge in that area but I would suggest speaking to an independent financial advisor, they're likley to know which direction to point you in or which providers might offer such policies.
Thanks Yoda
Hello geek84,
I would suggest you contact a specialist independent health insurer.
They will give you options as to the various policies available to your Mother that is, if age does not exclude her. When applying for private health cover you have to declare existing health problems which will not be covered by the insurance. Costs can vary according to age and specific problems insured for, invariable there is an increase in the subscription annually, I'm guessing here when I say you are looking at a cost of £3,000 to £6,000 annually that is if her age does not exclude her.
Having private health insurance would not enable your Mother to have priority for an ambulance or to be seen by your family doctor quicker. Depending where you live there are G.P's practising privately, mainly in a private hospital or linked to such. However there may be people purporting to be doctors when they are not. It is important you check their qualifications and to make sure the hospital is regulated and allied to an N.H.S. hospital which most are. Those doctors who accept private patients tend to have patients in both N.H.S. and private hospitals, however, not all doctors choose to practise privately.
If the health insurance is not possible, it is quite acceptable to pay for "one offs." For example, if Mother needed a hip replacement you would go to the G.P. and request he make a referral to orthopaedic surgeon, Mr. So And So or you could ask the G.P.'s recommendation. This done, you would enquire of your chosen surgeon and hospital the cost, they now do packages. A couple of years ago a hip cost about £10,000.
If Mother should fall or be taken ill there is no alternative but to either take her to A & E yourself or phone 999 for an ambulance which would be my preference as the paramedics and nurse practitioners can prescribe and administer drugs whilst the older person is in their own home unless of course it is deemed they need to be admitted to hospital.
I am sad to say for people my age who can remember the old systems which were in place that it is a far cry from the efficient or adequate systems that existed prior.
I believe, there is cause for the family to be vigilant when there is an elderly person to be cared for and to oversee the care they receive from ALL in the caring sector.
If Mother is deteriorating there are a number of things you can do to help you and her, physical aids are available to aid mobility and comfort, lifeline, homecare (my preference if affordable, would be to employ someone privately), some areas have a visiting service, referral from a G.P to a day centre where the person is collected and returned home having had a day with others including a cooked lunch.
I hope some of what I have said helps.
Hi MotherofaFather
Many thanks for your detailed advice.
Hi There,
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I agree with the above, I think with her age she wouldn't be eligable for private medical cover with most company's, and those that would cover would have a high premium, again as said any current issues would need to be disclosed and they wouldn't be covered, private companies can see NHS notes as a lot of the doctors cross over from private to NHS so they would be able to see past issues.
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My wife was an NHS nurse and currently works for a private medical company, though she is about to leave and go to private nursing.
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A company like Health care at home, may be able to offer you some support if she needs on going treatment and they would visit her at home, they specialise in cancer treatments but apparently they cover other treatments also.
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AXAppp offer private healthcare for over 70's but you would have to call them for a quote, be mindful, that the policy won't cover everything, somethings are excluded, and in other areas they will only cover up to what your plan has in the budget. It's also worth noting that if the worts happens and your mum is diagnosed with anything terminal then they would only cover bare essentials, and won't honuor any further treatments for that issue.
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With my wife working for private compnay it's been a bit of an eye opener as I always assumed that if you had private cover you would get what ever you needed, but that isn't the case any more.
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Also look into Simply Health this company has recently sold a large section of it's business to AXAppp but is still looking after private patients, it's sold it's corporate side and kept jo public, they are a very good company but not sure what they offer for over 70's
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GTTS
Many thanks for your reply, GTTS.