A recent study conducted by the Independent Healthcare Providers Network reveals that 40% of UK businesses are contemplating the adoption of private health insurance for their employees.
This is attributed to growing concerns among businesses about escalating rates of employee illness absences, prolonged wait times within the NHS, and a proactive response from some executives who are considering the implementation of private health insurance for their workforce.
The Independent Healthcare Providers Network, representing a majority of private health service providers, also discovered that slightly over half of the 1,000 surveyed businesses expressed a level of concern, ranging from “fairly concerned” to “very concerned,” regarding the potential impact of extended waiting times on their internal sickness absence rates.
Buck senior benefits consultant Amanda Cran says: “UK businesses are increasingly looking to ways they can attract and retain talent, but many are not always in a position to offer inflation-busting salary increases.
“With employees growing more and more concerned about challenges facing public healthcare, including extended waiting times, one area companies are looking to boost their employee offering is by improving the health and wellbeing platforms they provide, and even setting up private medical insurance (PMI) or cash plan policies for staff.
“Almost 40 per cent of firms are exploring PMI as part of their employee benefits package, while research from Buck shows that nearly half the UK’s employers (47 per cent) plan to increase investment in financial wellbeing and employee health benefits technology platforms.
“Just some of the ways employers are taking action include offering access to quality, unlimited digital tools like CBT plans, mental and physical assessments, mindfulness, personalised content, and 24/7 GPs – all of which demonstrate their commitment to the wellbeing of their teams.”
