There is no denying the fact that we are very lucky to enjoy a complimentary health service in this country. In fact, if you ask any American or European their opinion on our NHS, you will definitely see them turn a shade of green when they unconvincingly try to reassure you that their private medical insurance works better.
Notwithstanding this great service in the UK, it cannot be denied that life feels 100% more secure if you have a private health insurance in the background. At least you know that if you were to feel ball of foot pain or worse still, a lump on a part of your body, you would be rushed in for an immediate check-up and if any treatment is required, it would be administered far more expeditiously.
Even more importantly, you would not have to face any of those long waiting lists for appointments and the level of care received would be exponentially higher than through the NHS.
Unfortunately, there is no denying the fact that these private health insurance premiums can be very high indeed. Also, they are grotesquely attributed to age and previous health factors etc and this can be very unpleasant to work through as you apply for the best premium you can get.
One idea for the future, may be for there to be some sort of National Insurance opt out or reduction for people who decide to take out private healthcare. As things currently stand, it does not seem fair that people paying health insurance premiums are also forced to pay the full level of NI. With this in mind, I guess the NHS is not free to people on this country after all!