PatientChoice Access
PatientChoice Access
PatientChoice Access provides you with money to spend on specialist consultations, scans and medical procedures and operations. The allocation provided for the consultations and scans is divided into 3 separate bands, each with their own budget.
If you choose to recieve your medical care from the NHS, we will pay you a cash benefit appropriate for that procedure according to the NHS Benefits shown in the table below
| Description | Private Benefits | NHS Benefits | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Band A | Specialist Consultations | Up to £300 per year | £50 per year |
| Band B | CT and MRI Scans | Up to £700 per year | £75 per year Band |
| Band C | PET Scans | Up to £1,500 per year | £100 per year |
PatientChoice Access also covers over a thousand procedures, which in general terms are defined as:
- Medical procedures requiring a general anaesthetic
- Medical procedures requiring a regional or local anaesthetic in conjunction with an incision involving a surgical knife
- Endoscopic (fibre-optic) procedures
- Angiography and angioplasty (treatment of blood vessels)
- Chemotherapy and Radiotherapy (following an operation)
All covered procedures and their respective bands are listed in the Schedule of Procedures. The operations listed in the Schedule of Procedures are covered providing they are carried out in a way which meets the criteria for a procedure shown above.
Please refer to the terms and conditions document for other general exclusions, which may also affect whether a procedure shown is covered.
The procedures that the Hospital Treatment Plan covers are divided into 9 separate bands, each with their own budget. The table below gives an overview of the kind of procedures covered in the different bands and the budget of money you would receive should you need a procedure covered by your policy.
| Classification and description of medical procedures | Private Hospital Benefits | NHS Benefits | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Band 1 | These are the most straightforward procedures, generally undertaken as a day case and usually involving a local anaesthetic. An example would be the removal of a skin lesion. | £750 | £150 |
| Band 2 | Again, these are day cases and are commonly endoscopic procedures. Examples include colonoscopies and gastroscopies. | £1,500 | £250 |
| Band 3 | These procedures are mainly day cases but have a higher degree of invasiveness. An example is an inguinal hernia repair. | £2,250 | £350 |
| Band 4 | These procedures may also be day cases but they generally have an additional feature that can mean patients spend one night in hospital. Examples include the more complex arthroscopies or laparoscopies. | £3,000 | £500 |
| Band 5 | Included in this category are in-patient procedures for which you would expect to stay several nights in hospital. Examples include gall-bladder removal or a hysterectomy. | £6,000 | £1,500 |
| Band 6 | These procedures require substantial surgical and medical care. Examples include knee and hip replacements as well as cardiac angioplasties. | £10,000 | £2,500 |
| Band 7 | Procedures in this band require very high levels of surgical and medical care. Examples include some brain surgery, heart bypass operations, chemo-and radiotherapy. | £15,000 | £3,500 |
| Band 8 | Again, any procedure in this category requires very high levels of care. An example would be the more resource intensive brain surgery. | £20,000 | £4,000 |
| Band 9 | These procedures are the most complex and resource intensive. An example would be a heart valve replacement. | £25,000 | £5,000 |
Who Can be Covered
- You may join PatientChoice if you are between the ages of 1 and 80 and providing you are a resident in the UK for a minimum of 180 days a year. Applicant's children may be covered providing they are between the ages of 1 and 21 years (or 25yrs if they are still in full-time education).
- Newborn children can be added to the policy on their first birthday.
- Once you are a member, you can stay covered for the rest of your life even if you are over 80.
PatientChoice is able to keep premiums very low by not trying to duplicate the NHS in areas where the NHS already provides an excellent service. Therefore PatientChoice does not cover:
- Accident and Emergency-related procedures
- Pregnancy-related procedures
- Organ Transplants