Chronic condition benefits utilisation rose 92 per cent year-over-year in H1 2025, according to Healix Health’s H1 2025 benefits usage data.
Chronic condition benefits support for long-term health issues such as diabetes, asthma and heart disease. According to the data, women accounted for 63 per cent of usage, with 21 per cent of all claims coming from women aged 30–39.
Meanwhile, neurodiversity benefits use, which includes diagnostic assessments and ongoing support for conditions such as ADHD and autism, also surged, up 78 per cent. Almost half of all usage came from those aged 0 to 21, reflecting rising awareness of neurodiversity and increasing NHS pressures. Autism diagnosis waits now average over 17 months, up by 200 days in just a year.
Outpatient care accounted for 55 per cent of claims, and inpatient or daycase care made up 15 per cent, together representing 70 per cent of claims in the first half of the year. Physiotherapy, which made up 8 per cent of claims, and cash plans at 7 per cent completed the top five most-used benefits, with both rising from last year.
Additionally, primary care consultations jumped 60 per cent in early 2025, mostly driven by employees under 40. Meanwhile, gender-specific healthcare use grew 27 per cent, with 87 per cent of users being women aged 30–49 and reproductive health claims rose 15 per cent, 78 per cent of them from women aged 30–39.
Healix Health head of clinical operations Keira Wallis says: “Employees are showing us what matters to them through the benefits they actually use. We’ve seen real growth in areas like chronic conditions and neurodiversity, and women’s health is clearly a much bigger part of the conversation than it was a few years ago. These are all areas where the NHS is struggling to keep up, so naturally, more people are leaning on employer-provided care to fill the gap.
“What’s interesting is that men’s health isn’t seeing the same engagement, which suggests more could be done to encourage men to use the support that’s available to them – whether at work or in the wider healthcare system.”