The provider says it will also contribute a share towards a new private healthcare information network and will invite all insurers and hospital groups to a summit to see how the sector can be further revived.
Speaking ahead of what is expected to be the formal rubber-stamping of the recommendations set out by the Competition Commission in January, Bupa Health Funding managing director Damien Marmion said he saw this as the opportunity for the industry to work together to increase take up of private medical insurance beyond the 5m of 28m workers currently covered.
The Competition Commission is expected to require hospital groups HCI and BMI to sell hospitals and will require reviews before private operators are allowed to operate private patient units in NHS hospitals in local areas where there is little competition.
It has also recommended that restrictions be placed on incentive schemes provided by private hospitals to clinicians that encourage patient referrals to their facilities or for particular treatments or tests.
It will also require the collection and publication of information on the performance of private hospitals and individual consultants and the provision of consultant fee information to patients.
Marmion said the potential for lower premiums should be used to kick-start a broader debate across the industry to look at ways of making PMI more accessible to more people.
Marmion says: “We want to see a new settlement with rapid and co-operative implementation of the recommendations and industry agreement to go much further than required. This will lead to significant improvements in price and quality, potentially attracting millions more customers to the sector.
We are already starting to see some employers take a whole of workforce approach. The fact that auto-enrolment is bringing all employees into pensions means employers may increasingly see benefits as being suitable for all staff.”
