There appears to be a narrowing of the ‘insurance gap’ between the insured and uninsured private medical treatment, according to analysis from Broadstone.
Data from the Private Healthcare Information Network (PHIN) showed that as of the first quarter of 2023, insured admissions were at 105% of their Q1 2019 level.
This was after a 10 percentage point increase in the preceding six months when admissions were 95% of 2019 levels at the end of Q3 2022.
In contrast, self-pay admissions are at 142% of their pre-pandemic level having hovered at around 140% of 2019 activity for almost two years, since a peak of 144% in Q1 2022.
As a result, the “insurance gap” is at its narrowest point since the pandemic, Broadstone said.
It also suggested this was due to employers increasing their offering and coverage of private healthcare options allowing more workers to access insured treatments via the private sector.
The analysis of the insurance gap came from earlier data that the number of patients receiving treatment through PMI had risen in the first quarter of the year to reach a record level.
That data showed 156,000 insured patients received treatment between January and March 2023, an increase of 18,000 more insured admissions than in the same period in 2022.
Launched in 2022, the Broadstone Insurance Gap Index tracks the relative changes in self-pay and insured private medical treatments alongside NHS waiting lists since 2019.
Brett Hill, head of health and protection at Broadstone, (pictured) said: “We are now starting to see the expected acceleration in insured admissions spurred by the crisis in the NHS.
“The closing of the insurance gap shows how underlying demand for private healthcare treatments is being addressed by the adoption of insurance, often as part of a workplace benefits package.
“More and more CEOs recognise the business case for private healthcare options with the NHS crisis making apparent the investment return from supporting the health and wellbeing of their colleagues.
“If the NHS cannot be relied on to keep their staff in the workforce then they must invest to do so or suffer the hit to their bottom-line.”