Using private medical insurance

Get a referral from your GP and make an enquiry

Simply visit your GP and ask them to refer you to a consultant practising at Wells Health. 

Your GP will write a letter of referral and then you or your GP can contact us to arrange your first appointment.

Your insurance company may ask your GP to complete some sections of a claim form. Your GP might make a nominal charge for this service.

Once you and your consultant have agreed on the treatment needed, we will arrange your admission for a time that suits you.

If you need any help or advice, our private team are here to help.

Call us on 01892 741242

 

Contact your insurer

Please contact your insurer before booking an appointment with us so they can pre-authorise your treatment. Your insurance provider will check your policy covers you to see a consultant at one of our Wells Health hospital locations.

If you haven't been referred to a specific consultant, your insurer will provide a choice of consultants to pick from.

If you need further information on a consultant our friendly private patient team will be happy to help you. 

 

Book a consultation

Once you have contacted your insurer you can speak with our private patient team who will book your appointment. 

When requesting an appointment please have to hand your insurer details, pre-authorisation code and the name of the consultant you wish to see.

Processing claims

Your claims process will depend on your provider. Guidelines on how to process a claim should be outlined in your welcome pack from your insurer and you will need to follow this to process a claim.

If your employer provides your insurance, you should follow the claims process specific to your scheme.

 

What you might need to make a claim

Sometimes an insurer may require your GP to complete a claim form. If this is the case, you should:

• Bring it with you when you attend your first outpatient appointment
• Tell the Wells Health private patient team you have a claim form and it is already with your consultant, GP or insurance company
• If you're being admitted for an in-patient or day-case treatment, please submit your claim form to the private patient team so that they can arrange for the medical section to be completed by your consultant
• Please check you have completed and signed the ‘patient/member’ section on the claim form

 

Before you come into hospital

Before your outpatient appointment please gather the following:

• Your policy documentation even if you have visited a Wells Health hospital before
• Your insurance company name and scheme details
• Your membership or policy number
• Any confirmation of eligibility such as a pre-authorisation or claim reference number

If you can't provide full insurance details or if your insurance doesn't cover the full cost of your outpatient treatment, we'll ask you to pay any hospital charges on the day of your visit.

Payment process

For most patients, treatment costs are based on agreements with your insurer and payment will be made directly by your insurance company.

We charge for our hospital services such as nursing, use of our facilities, medical consumables etc. Our consultants - surgeons, anaesthetists and physicians - charge independently for their time and expertise.

To make things easier for you, we have direct settlement arrangements with the major UK insurance companies. Your insurer will normally settle your bills from your consultants and us directly. In order to do this, we’ll need to know:

• Your insurer
• Your registration number
• Your scale/level of cover
• Your scheme details if you are insured under a company scheme
• Your pre-authorisation number for your treatment

You'll be asked to provide your credit or debit card details; this is only to verify your card and no funds will be taken at this stage.

This is to cover any insurance excess or shortfall your insurer is not liable to pay, for example sundry items.

Your details will be kept securely for up to six months and we will notify you in advance if we need to use them.

In addition to any insurance excess or co-pay, sundry items may include:

• Specialist equipment to aid recovery e.g. a wrist brace, crutches
• Drugs to take home if they are not already included in your overall treatment arrangements
• Personal expenses such as telephone calls, meals for visitors, newspapers.

 

Excesses and balances not covered by insurance

If you do not have sufficient cover or if there is an excess on your policy, your insurer will advise you of the outstanding payment due to the hospital.

They will also notify us of your excess/out of cover charges and we will send an invoice to you advising of the balance to be processed against your debit or credit card.

Consultants may invoice to your home address and it may be necessary for you to forward bills to your insurer.

Billing queries

Our business office can help with any queries you have about your bill once you've had treatment. 

Email: mtw-tr.wellsbusinessadmin@nhs.net 
Phone: 01892 741125