Demand for private healthcare surging

The business intelligence provider says the shift might be due to the continuing challenge of accessing NHS-funded care, which is pushing people toward private-funded alternatives for access, diagnosis, and treatment.

In total, 4.2m people were subscribed to medical cover schemes – once other people covered under the policies are included, this meant that 7.3m people were able to make use of private medical cover. This is the highest number since 2008.

Given growth in the UK population, penetration remains below 2008 levels (10.8 per cent of the population covered compared to 12.3 per cent in 2008) which speaks to the broader decline in coverage that took place following the 2008 financial crash and only began to recover in 2018.