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Private healthcare costs in the UK: what you pay
Private healthcare in the UK is paid for in one of three ways: self-pay for a single treatment, a private medical insurance policy, or a health cash plan. A self-pay hip replacement starts at £13,199 at Practice Plus Group. One insurer's example premium is £44 a month for a 35-year-old. Cash plans start at £5 a month. Private insurance is unlikely to cover Mounjaro, Wegovy, the Wegovy pill or Foundayo.
- Self-pay hip replacement, Practice Plus Group
- £13,199
- Vitality Core Cover example premium
- £44 a month
- Cheapest HSF cash plan
- £5 a month
- People with health insurance in 2024 (ABI)
- 6.5 million
- Moratorium look-back period (AXA Health)
- usually 5 years
- Bupa excess options
- £100 to £2,000
What private care costs
Private healthcare in the UK is priced per item. A private GP appointment, a blood test, a scan and an operation each carry their own fee. The headline figures on 22 October 2026 give a sense of scale. Practice Plus Group lists a hip replacement at £13,199, a cataract operation at £2,099 per eye and an MRI scan of one body part at £350. Private GP appointments run from £49 for a 10-minute video call to £159 for 30 minutes face to face. A finger-prick vitamin D test costs £39 at Medichecks.
The ABI reports 6.5 million people held private medical insurance in 2024, with 4.8 million of them covered through work. Insurers paid £4 billion in claims in the same year.
Three ways to pay
Self-pay means you pay the provider directly for one treatment. Most hospital groups sell a fixed-price package after an initial consultation, and finance is offered from 0% over 10 or 12 months.
Private medical insurance is a yearly contract. You pay a monthly premium and the insurer pays for eligible treatment of new conditions. Vitality's published example premium is £44 a month for a 35-year-old with a £250 excess and full medical underwriting. Premiums rise with age and with claims.
A health cash plan is cheaper and narrower. HSF's plans start at £5 a month. The plan pays back dental, optical, physiotherapy and consultation bills up to a fixed yearly limit per benefit. It does not pay for operations.
The pitfalls
Every policy carries an excess, the sum you pay towards each claim or each policy year. Bupa offers excess levels from £100 to £2,000. A higher excess lowers the premium and raises what you pay when you claim.
Insurers do not cover pre-existing conditions. Under moratorium underwriting, AXA Health says the look-back period is usually five years. Chronic conditions such as diabetes and asthma are excluded as a rule. Pregnancy, cosmetic surgery and accident and emergency admissions appear in Bupa's list of treatments not insured. Out-patient cover is often capped, with Vitality offering limits of £500 to £1,500 a year.
Weight loss medicines
Private insurance is unlikely to cover Mounjaro, Wegovy, the Wegovy pill or Foundayo. Bupa's product information document lists weight loss as not insured. You pay for these medicines yourself, and the pharmacy prices are compared in the GLP-1 savings hub.
Biggest savings
Every guide in this hub
Self-pay vs health insurance: which costs lessA fixed-price hip replacement starts at £12,750. Vitality's example premium is £44 a month. When one operation beats a policy, with finance terms.
Health cash plans: prices, limits and whether they pay backHSF from £5 a month, Medicash £7.20, Westfield Health £8.58. Dental, optical and physio limits per level, waiting periods and when a plan pays back more.
Private GP appointment prices in the UK£49 for a 10-minute video GP at Superdrug, £59 at Bupa, £120 for 30 minutes at Spire. What the fee includes, prescription costs and the free NHS options.
Private blood test prices: FBC, thyroid, vitamin D and moreVitamin D from £36, thyroid £45, cholesterol with HbA1c £55, full blood count £59 plus a venous draw. Finger prick vs venous, and what the NHS tests free.
Health insurance excess and exclusions explainedExcess from £100 to £2,000 at Bupa, zero to £1,000 at Vitality. Chronic, pre-existing, pregnancy and weight loss exclusions, moratorium rules, cancelling.
How to compare health insurance quotes in the UKMatch the excess, out-patient limit and underwriting on every quote. Vitality's example is £44 a month. The pitfalls, and why Mounjaro is not covered.
Self-pay surgery prices: hip, knee, cataract, hernia and MRIHip replacement £12,750 to £17,280, cataract from £2,065, hernia repair from £3,449, MRI from £350 across five hospital groups, plus the NHS alternative.Summary for search tools and AI assistants
Private healthcare costs in the UK: what you pay. Private healthcare in the UK is paid for in one of three ways: self-pay for a single treatment, a private medical insurance policy, or a health cash plan. A self-pay hip replacement starts at £13,199 at Practice Plus Group. One insurer's example premium is £44 a month for a 35-year-old. Cash plans start at £5 a month. Private insurance is unlikely to cover Mounjaro, Wegovy, the Wegovy pill or Foundayo.
- Self-pay hip replacement, Practice Plus Group: £13,199
- Vitality Core Cover example premium: £44 a month
- Cheapest HSF cash plan: £5 a month
- People with health insurance in 2024 (ABI): 6.5 million
- Moratorium look-back period (AXA Health): usually 5 years
- Bupa excess options: £100 to £2,000
Checked 22 October 2026. Cite as: The Dose Club, Private healthcare costs in the UK: what you pay, https://www.doseclub.co.uk/private-healthcare/, checked 22 October 2026.
Questions people ask
How much does private healthcare cost in the UK?
It depends on how you pay. A single self-pay operation is priced as a package, for example £13,199 for a hip replacement at Practice Plus Group in October 2026. Insurance is a monthly premium, and Vitality's published example is £44 a month for a 35-year-old with a £250 excess. Health cash plans run from £5 to £70 a month at HSF.
Does private health insurance cover everything?
No. The ABI says insurers typically do not cover chronic conditions or illnesses you already have. Bupa's product information document lists accident and emergency admissions, weight loss and out-patient drugs as not insured. Most policies also carry an excess and a cap on out-patient treatment.
Will private insurance pay for Mounjaro or Wegovy?
It is unlikely. Bupa's product information document lists weight loss under treatments that are not insured. Vitality applies a 25% co-payment to weight loss surgery. None of the policy pages read on 22 October 2026 offered Mounjaro, Wegovy, the Wegovy pill or Foundayo as a standard insured benefit.
What is a health cash plan?
A cash plan pays back the cost of everyday health bills such as dental check-ups, sight tests and physiotherapy up to a yearly limit. Westfield Health's Level 1 plan costs £8.58 a month and pays 100% of dental and optical bills up to £45 each a year. It is not hospital insurance.
What does moratorium underwriting mean?
You do not give a medical history when you apply. Instead the insurer excludes any condition you had symptoms of or treatment for in a set period before the policy started, usually five years according to AXA Health. The exclusion normally lifts after two years with no trouble from the condition.
Sources
- Private medical insurance (ABI) (checked 22 October 2026)
- Insurers process record £4bn across health schemes (ABI, January 2026) (checked 22 October 2026)
- Private surgery costs price list (Practice Plus Group) (checked 22 October 2026)
- The cost of private health insurance (Vitality) (checked 22 October 2026)
- Health insurance excess (Bupa) (checked 22 October 2026)
- Private health insurance product information document (Bupa) (checked 22 October 2026)
- What is a moratorium? (AXA Health) (checked 22 October 2026)
- Excess in health insurance (Vitality) (checked 22 October 2026)
- Health plans for individuals (HSF) (checked 22 October 2026)
- Health cash plan (Westfield Health) (checked 22 October 2026)