How do people pay for private healthcare?

Overall, almost 6 in 10 people (57%) who have used private healthcare have done so using private medical insurance – either a private policy or one accessed via their employer. This is a significant increase over the past three years when just under half (49%) of people paid for treatment using insurance.

This rise in the use of insurance can be seen across all age groups and is particularly stark in the 18-24 year cohort where the proportion using insurance to pay for private treatment increased from 31% in 2023 to 55% this year, and in the 35-44 age group where use of insurance has risen from 43% to 61% in the same period.