Health Cash Plans are often used to claim back money after routine appointments such as annual eye or dental check-ups. But there are so many other ways that a Health Cash Plan can provide value to you as an individual, or to your employees if you’re a company wanting to get the most back from investing in staff wellbeing.
It’s a concept which is hundreds of years old yet its purpose is still extremely relevant today – especially at a time when wellbeing matters more than ever, and we’re all reassessing both household and organisational budgets in light of the cost of living crisis. As you’ll see from the key points we’ve put together, a Plan can even help with easing some of your financial worries.
🍏 Access to healthcare
We all know catching health issues early is crucial in lots of cases – and if we think beyond treatments and symptoms, it’s even beneficial financially, too.
Knowing they can claim back some or all of the costs can encourage people to attend regular appointments, rather than extending the time between seeing a professional in order to save much-needed money.
Example: An individual paying for a Direct Plan (Level 1) could claim back £45 towards the annual cost of their dental treatment – more than covering the Band 1 cost of £23.80 of an annual check-up with an NHS dentist (to include advice and preventative treatment for any potential future problems identified). Even if they had six-monthly check-ups, that would leave them with just £2.60 to pay for the whole year. (Figures correct as of August 2022)
However: An individual without a Health Cash Plan may leave it much longer between appointments to pay out for treatment. However, this means issues can’t be spotted early and by the time a dentist takes a look, any problems may have developed to the point of needing more complex treatment such as a crown or denture. Unfortunately, this person is now going to have to pay out for Band 3 NHS treatment, to the tune of £282.
🩺 Making full use of a Plan
While optical and dental treatments are among the most-claimed types of healthcare costs, a Plan offers much more than that – with a minimum of seven different types of appointment included (such as physiotherapy and chiropody) within every single plan as well as access to other essential services such as 24/7 access to a GP – and children under 18 are also included within your plan..
Example: An individual suffers from recurring pain following a sports injury – rather than needing to take time off work, they can book regular physio appointments to keep them feeling physically well. This also positively impacts their mental health, because they’re not sat at home in pain. And it enables them to continue taking part in their team sport, which is both physically and mentally beneficial.
Plus: They also want to see a doctor about a non-emergency issue. Due to the unrelenting pressure on the NHS, their local surgery can’t offer them an appointment for weeks, so they call MyPocket GP and arrange a phone call with a practising GP for the very next day. It means they don’t have to get to and from the surgery, and if they need to be referred for specialist tests, these may even be covered under their Paycare Plan too.
🌟 Business benefits
We can clearly see the benefits to the staff of their employer-paid Plan. But how does the company themselves reap the value of their investment?
- Less presenteeism – this collectively costs the UK more than £15billion each year.
- Higher levels of productivity – in some cases, productivity rises by at least 12% where issues such as mental ill health are addressed.
- Less sickness – a third of businesses experience a drop in absence rates after introducing health benefits.
- Helps recruitment – at least three fifths of jobseekers consider employee wellbeing as a crucial factor when applying to work for a new company.
- Health for all – everyone on your team will have different health needs, so trying to find one specific benefit that suits everyone can be a struggle. With a Health Cash Plan, everyone has access to a whole range of benefits – meaning they can pick and choose which they need, and you’re supporting them all in a way which is of real individual and collective value.
- Plus, with Paycare paying back on average more than 80% of all premiums in claims payments, there’s a higher return on investment compared to other benefits available for companies to choose from for their team.
💰 A helping hand in tough financial times
Everyone signed up to our Plans also gets access to our Paycare Perks platform, which hosts a variety of offers on everything from luxuries like gym equipment and holidays to the necessities like utilities and the weekly food shop. This is a service which has become even more valuable to our Policyholders in recent times given the cost of living rises we’ve all been experiencing.
This means we can all continue having those experiences essential to our wellbeing – such as days out with family and friends – despite the current financial worries we all have. And it also enables continued access to (for example) gym memberships and sports gear so that physical wellness doesn’t have to go by the wayside when making personal budget cuts.
While there are discounts to be had in many places on the internet, the key with Perks is that we do the hard work for you – collating the very best deals (in lots of cases, they’re exclusive to you) into one easily-accessible web page. We also work hard to ensure there are a wide range of deals which are regularly updated so there’s something to suit everyone, from cinema tickets, fitness products and electronics to life insurance, clothing and staycation deals.
In fact, the average Policyholder stands to save £440.77 a year by making use of Perks (according to Parliament Hill).
🧠📞 Supporting mental and physical health with MyHelpline
Our telephone line – also known as an Employee Assistance Programme – offers round-the-clock confidential support for any Policyholder, as many times as they need. Where needed, the Policyholder may also be offered up to six structured counselling sessions too.
An employer seeking a stand-alone EAP would be looking at paying out around £15 per employee, but because we truly want to offer maximum value, we include access to MyHelpline within all of our Policies – whether individual or employer-paid.
We know that for every £1 spent on an EAP in the UK, employers see an average return on investment of £8. We also hear on a regular basis from Policyholders just how valuable the service is: they may have been signposted towards a charity which has supported them with financial advice, or been able to return to work feeling much more productive after discussing a stressful situation. Or maybe they’ve accessed counselling sessions which they may otherwise have had to wait for (over half wait for 3 months to access NHS talking therapies, and 10% wait a year) or pay for (private counselling can cost up to £70 per session).
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Now, that’s a lot of information to take in – and there are plenty of aspects of the Health Cash Plan we haven’t even touched on! But if you’d like to find out more about the specifics of each Plan, then do take a look here for individual plans, and here for company plans 😊
Or, if you’re already a Policyholder, why not get in touch and tell us what the most valuable part of your Plan is, in your opinion? We love hearing from you, and working to ensure our offering is truly supportive of your health and happiness! 🧡