When you think of private medical treatment you may automatically think of cosmetic surgery. If you do, then you may need to understand what is and what is not covered by private medical insurance. It would be great if Health Insurance did cover Cosmetic Surgery; however, many providers exclude it within their terms and conditions.
Your Health Insurance is designed to cover you for the treatment of acute medical conditions. Cosmetic surgery does not fall into this category because you are choosing to have surgery or a medical procedure to change your appearance.
The same ruling applies with Dental Insurance. Cosmetic Dental treatment is excluded under the terms and conditions of the policies available from our panel of providers.
Is Cosmetic Surgery available on the NHS?
Unless there is an overriding psychological or physical reason, it is rarely available on the NHS. Where it is, the waiting lists are incredibly long. Due to this reason, if you want to have cosmetic surgery, your quickest route is to self-fund and pay privately. It is important to remember that when you have private treatment of this type, the NHS will not get involved if your procedure goes wrong unless it leaves you in a life threatening condition where you need emergency treatment following a serious complication.
Do any Health Insurance providers make an exception for Cosmetic Surgery in the UK?
If you have your cover with Vitality Health, they do offer a benefit called Lifestyle Surgery. Under this category you can claim for the following procedures:
- Weight Loss Surgery including Gastric Banding, Gastric Bypass and Gastric Sleeve
- The removal of port wine birthmarks on the face
- Ear Re-shaping
- Breast reduction (including treatment for excessive male breast tissue)
There is a very specific criteria you would need to meet to be eligible for the Lifestyle Treatment benefits. As an example, the ear-reshaping is only available for children between the age of 5 and 14 at the start of the treatment. If your children have had the procedure done before then they would not be eligible under the Vitality Health policy.
If you decide to proceed with the weight loss surgery you will be expected to contribute 25% of the total package price.
Having surgery of any type is a daunting prospect. It is important that you think everything through before agreeing to any surgical procedures.
What other options are there for funding Cosmetic Surgery?
If you do not have money saved for your surgery, what options are available if you want to self-fund your private medical treatment?
There are a number of fantastic private hospitals and medical facilities that can offer you cosmetic surgery. Many of the reputable hospital groups will offer you a payment plan to enable you to afford your surgery. If you decide to take this option, make sure that you are happy with the terms of the financial agreement. Surgery itself is a big decision and borrowing the money to pay for it makes it even more so.
If you have not had a personal recommendation to a specific facility or consultant then it is worth you speaking to your local private hospitals to find out their pricing structure. This could provide you with a cost saving on your procedure.
There are a number of hospital groups in the UK who would be able to help you such as:
- BMI Healthcare
- Ramsay Health Care
- HCA Healthcare UK
- Nuffield Health
It is important that you have a consultation before making any final decision about your cosmetic surgery.
How SMP Healthcare can help you find the right private medical insurance policy
The team at SMP Healthcare Ltd have many years experience in the Health Insurance market. We cannot offer to help you find a private medical insurance policy that will cover you for cosmetic surgery but we certainly can ensure you get a great policy in 2021. If you would like to work with an independent broker who can give you unbiased and expert advice then please get in touch today.
You can contact us by telephone 01245 929129/ 0800 047 0127 or by email enquiries@smphealthcare.com