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Hospital Cash Plans

Hospital cash plans are a cheaper alternative to Private Medical Insurance, and are designed to pay you a specific amount of money if you are required to stay in hospital; whether you are treated privately or on the NHS. This is to provide cover for day-to-day living expenses of yourself or your family, or to cover additional expenses such as childcare, travelling or accommodation costs.

Some plans may also pay out up to a given limit for certain types of medical treatment, such as visits to the dentist or optician. Any money paid out as the result of a claim under a cash plan is normally paid tax-free.

Benefits

The following table shows the benefits typically offered by Hospital Plans:

Full cost of treatment reimbursed (up to a specified limit per year) Proportion of cost of treatment reimbursed (up to a specified limit per year) Specific cash sum payable per incident

Dentist

Optician

 

Acupuncture

Chiropody

Chiropractic Treatment

Consultation Fees

Health Screening

Osteopathy

Physiotherapy

Podiatry Treatment

Day Surgery

Funeral Expenses

Hospital Accident Admission

Hospital In-Patient

Maternity/Paternity and Adoption Grant

Hospital cash plans will vary between providers; some may only offer a proportion of the cost of all treatments, some may not provide funding for funeral expenses or maternity grants.

Exclusions and Limits

Cash plans will not provide cover in respect of any pre-existing illnesses. There will often be a time lapse imposed before you can first make a claim: often 6 months from the date you start the plan. Cover may also be restricted to certain conditions or specific reasons for any required stays in hospital.

Most plans will place a limit on the number of items, such as prescriptions, for which you can claim, or alternatively, there may be a monetary limit on the amount you can claim per year.