Health Insurance Private payment rejected - only health insurance accepted

Someone told me that they wished to pay for some private medical treatment themselves, but were told by the hospital that the consultants only accept payments from health insurers. Does this sound plausible? If so, and if it becomes widespread (if it is not already), does that mean that health insurance will become a requirement for private treatment?

userabc said:

but were told by the hospital that the consultants only accept payments from health insurers

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Maybe they misunderstood or left out some relevant information when talking to you?

I do think it's plausible depending on the treatment, if there is a risk that complications could arise and unless it's something very basic that is a small but nevertheless risk then the consultant/hospital could have a far bigger bill for the person and they may not be able to pay it, that is the reason.

My father for example had a hip replacement, the usual fee between the hospital and insurers was in or around 10k, now a person could in theory fund that themselves if necessary, but as it happened complications did occur resulting in a much longer stay, two revisions of the operation and a final bill for the insurer of over 40k and that was maybe 20 yrs ago.

Yes, it is quite possible that they left out some information, and I don't know them well enough to feel that I can probe more deeply.

They did mention, although I don't know if the hospital said this or if it was their own speculation, that the consultants don't want private payers because of the hassle of collecting the money and the risk that they will not be able to pay. I can also imagine that it is in the interest of the health insurers to encourage this practice, and that, as a major source of income for the consultants, they have the leverage to exert their influence.

userabc said:

I can also imagine that it is in the interest of the health insurers to encourage this practice, and that, as a major source of income for the consultants, they have the leverage to exert their influence.

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I can imagine that this is a figment of your imagination.

The consultants/hospital just want the security of guaranteed payment, surely the ideal for any business and private hospitals are first and foremost a business.