NHS Cancer Care Crisis - Is it time to add private medical insurance to your employee benefit package?

Pressure on NHS services has been mounting for several years. There are multiple reasons for this, including the lingering effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine leading to an energy crisis, the cost-of-living crisis driven by inflation, and, finally, industrial action within the NHS.

As a result, in 2023, cancer waiting times were the worst ever recorded. In fact, the BBC reports that only 64.1% of patients started treatment within 62 days of cancer being suspected. This means almost 100,000 people were forced to wait longer than they should have for potentially life-saving care[1].

The below chart highlights the concerning trend that more and more people are having to wait longer than 62 days to be seen.

 

Source: BBC analysis of NHS statistics[2]

As if this news wasn’t already bad enough, the knock-on consequences of the worsening situation with the NHS also have broad implications for the UK economy, employment, labour market, and insurance.

Read more: What every employer needs to consider as medical inflation makes medical insurance premiums a difficult pill to swallow

Offering private medical insurance as an employee benefit could help protect your business

It’s often hard to strike the right balance between budgeting for employee benefits versus the potential negative effect on business. And yet, if you don’t provide realistic, alternative solutions so your employees can receive the treatment they need in a timely fashion, you could see a fall in both performance and productivity.

We often say that it’s impossible to prepare for the unexpected. Yet, in this case, you have the unique advantage of being able to use the data to drive your decisions.

The stark statistics above shine a bright spotlight on the heightened need to provide private medical insurance to employees to protect your business.

Advantages of private medical insurance

Private medical insurance can help your employees return to work sooner and provide them with support to bolster their physical and mental wellbeing.

This can benefit your business by increasing engagement and productivity. It could also boost morale and potentially reduce absenteeism.

As well as providing an excellent incentive and encouraging current employees to stay with your business, it may also serve as an attractive benefit to high-quality candidates you'd like to employ.

You can tailor group private medical insurance to suit your business needs

You can benefit from a broad range of benefits, such as:

• Shorter waiting times to help employees potentially return to work quicker
• High-quality treatment for various conditions, including cancer, mental health, and musculoskeletal issues
• 24-hour access to a GP or nurse outside of work hours
• Policies that extend to cover employee family members.

Other employee benefits may also provide valuable support

Private medical insurance is just one benefit that could help support employees diagnosed with cancer.

For example, group income protection could help ease the financial burden of having to take time off work for treatment and recuperation. Another potentially valuable benefit that could have a positive impact on an employee’s financial wellbeing when faced with a cancer diagnosis is critical illness cover.

Pause to consider the potential upheaval a cancer diagnosis could cause, and you’ll likely list a whole range of possible problems.

Critical illness cover pays out a tax-free lump sum if an employee is diagnosed with an illness or medical condition specified in the terms of the policy. The money could be used to help pay medical bills, pay off large debts, or even provide an income if they have to take an extended period of time off work.

Some companies opt to offer critical illness cover as a voluntary extra, but you may decide you prefer to offer it as a core benefit.

With a wide range of providers offering differing critical illness cover, we can help you understand which policy might be suitable and assist you in avoiding expensive premiums on insurance that doesn’t cover what you expected.

Get in touch

We’re experienced in designing, implementing, and managing healthcare schemes for a wide range of employers. So, we’re well placed to help you ensure you choose an option that is cost-effective and covers all your needs.

To discuss adding private medical insurance to your benefits package, please get in touch. Email info@aspirafp.co.uk or call us on 0800 048 0150.

Please note

The information contained in this article is based on the opinion of Aspira and does not constitute financial advice or a recommendation for any investment or retirement strategy.

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[1] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-68240096

[2] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-68240096

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