The Association of Medical insurance
Intermediaries (AMII) fully endorses the Office of Fair Trading’s (OFT) bid for
greater transparency and competition for consumers of private healthcare.
Andrew Tripp of AMII says, “We want to see
greater transparency around benefit fee limits for consultants and
anaesthetists. Access to transparent and competitive markets should be
fundamental rights for consumers seeking private healthcare and we welcome the
OFT’s decision to refer to the Competition Commission. This is extremely
important when greater pressures are being put on NHS spending.”
The Association recognises benefit fee limits and
hospital networks are a necessity to maintaining a cost-effective insurance
proposition for consumers. However, it believes there should be a clear
distinction between those broad-based hospital networks, where the private
medical insurance customer has actively agreed to only obtain treatment at a
selected list of hospitals in return for a lower premium; and the treatment
networks where the insurer insists that for certain types of treatment (for
example oral-surgery, ophthalmic conditions, certain types of cancer treatment)
the customer must use specific consultants/hospitals, which may be more
restrictive than the general hospital list that the customer has agreed to
For treatment networks, the criteria that
insurers are using to determine which providers are included on the treatment
network should be clear to private healthcare providers, medical professionals
and consumers. When an insurer introduces a treatment network for specific
medical conditions, we want to see existing customers given the choice to opt
out of the network for extra premium.
And insurers should share with customers the quality data they are using
to establish these treatment networks.
Private medical insurance news: 23 December 2011
