Going Private 2025
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The public’s appetite for private healthcare
Overall, about one-third of people in the UK have – at some point in their lives – accessed private healthcare.
More than seven out of every ten people (71%), however, would consider using private healthcare if they needed treatment in the future – up from 64% two years ago.
This shift in attitude towards private healthcare – plays out across all age groups. In general, younger people (18-44) are slightly more likely to consider using private healthcare than older age groups, but even among the 65+ group, 63% of the population would still consider using private healthcare in the future.
Last year, we reported that 18-34 year olds were those most likely to consider using private healthcare. While enthusiasm for private healthcare amongst this group remains strong, this year it is the 35-44 year old cohort who say they are most likely to use private healthcare, with 49% of this group now considering it likely that they will access private healthcare within the next 12 months – a jump of ten percentage points from our 2024 survey. This compares to 42% of 18-24 year olds who are expecting to use private health in the coming year and 33% of 45-64 year olds.
There are several reasons for this shift – which will be discussed later in this report – but an increase in access to private medical insurance schemes is likely to be a significant factor.
Looking more broadly, openness to using private healthcare spans across all regions – from 64% of the population of Yorkshire and Humberside to 76% of those living in the West Midlands saying they would consider paying for treatment.
Interestingly, there is also broad support across different social grades. Whilst unsurprisingly 82% of people in the AB grades (i.e. managerial/professionals) would consider using private healthcare, 70% of C2 (skilled manual occupations) and the 59% of DE (unskilled manual occupations) grades would equally be open to using private healthcare – a jump of 6% and 10% respectively in the last two years.