Reviews, costs and the state of the queue.

NHS data Children's mental health waits: the quiet crisis CAMHS pressure, what families can do while they wait, and what private and insured routes cost. 5 min read · July 2026 NHS data 1 in 4 wait six weeks-plus for diagnostics DM01 explained: why the diagnostic queue — MRI, endoscopy, echo — quietly stretches every other NHS wait. 5 min read · July 2026 NHS data 105,000 have waited over a year. Who are they? Over 105,000 people have waited 52+ weeks. Which specialties, why it concentrates, and what's being done. 5 min read · July 2026 NHS data NHS waiting times, May 2026 The May 2026 RTT release: 7.3m waiting, 12.4-week median, and a long tail the headlines mostly miss. 5 min read · July 2026 NHS data The 1-in-12 problem: NHS waiting's long tail Median 12.4 weeks, but 1 in 12 wait 38.6+. Who lands in the tail, and why it's the number that matters. 5 min read · July 2026 NHS data RTT: how the NHS waiting clock works When the RTT clock starts, what stops it, what pauses it — and how to read your own referral status. 5 min read · July 2026

News & policy The ADHD assessment backlog 52+ week NHS waits, a Right to Choose surge, and a £500–£1,200 private market. The access gap, analysed. 5 min read · July 2026 News & policy AI in underwriting Where AI actually appears in health insurance — pricing and claims triage — what it can't change, and your FCA protections. 4 min read · July 2026 News & policy Autumn enrolment for January schemes January scheme starts are won in autumn. The quote-decide-communicate timeline for employers. 4 min read · July 2026 News & policy Your NHS consultant probably works privately too One set of specialists, two systems. What dual practice means for what you're actually buying privately. 5 min read · July 2026 News & policy NHS dentistry in 2026: the access problem Why finding an NHS dentist got so hard, and what private care, dental plans and cash plans cost instead. 5 min read · July 2026 News & policy The rise and rise of the digital GP Why the video GP became insurance's most-used benefit, what it does well, and what a screen can't do. 5 min read · July 2026 News & policy Family cover in 2026 Family of four: ~£167/month. How child pricing works, and why teen mental health is reshaping family cover. 4 min read · July 2026 News & policy Weight-loss drugs and insurers in 2026 Wegovy and Mounjaro are everywhere — except on insurance policies. Why insurers exclude them, and what's shifting. 5 min read · July 2026 News & policy The 8am scramble: GP access Why the 8am phone race persists, what digital routes really change, and where insurers' GP services fit. 5 min read · July 2026 News & policy Medical inflation: why treatment costs rise faster than everything else Technology, staffing and demand push healthcare costs up faster than CPI. What that means for your premium. 5 min read · July 2026 News & policy The insurer landscape, summer 2026 The big six, the challengers, and the trends: digital GP standard, mental health expansion, menopause pathways. 5 min read · July 2026 News & policy IPT budget watch The 12% tax inside every premium: what it raises, how it climbed from 2.5%, and what a Budget rise would cost. 4 min read · July 2026 News & policy Menopause support goes mainstream Insurer menopause pathways, workplace policies and the retention maths: how a taboo became a standard benefit. 4 min read · July 2026 News & policy The new-tax-year cover checklist April jobs: employees check the BIK in their tax code; employers prep P11Ds and plan for 2027 payrolling. 4 min read · April 2026 News & policy April 2027: BIK reporting moves into payroll P11Ds are being retired: from April 2027 health insurance and most BIKs are taxed through payroll in real time. 5 min read · July 2026 News & policy The rise of physio self-referral Insurers' direct-access lines and NHS schemes are cutting the GP out of the physio pathway. Here's why. 5 min read · July 2026 News & policy What cover costs, autumn 2026 The 2026 averages — £80 adult, £146 couple, £167 family, £57 per employee — and where they're heading. 5 min read · July 2026 News & policy Why private healthcare keeps growing Waiting lists, the self-pay boom and employer demand: the three engines behind private healthcare's growth in 2026. 4 min read · July 2026 News & policy Can private hospitals absorb the NHS backlog? The independent sector is treating more NHS patients than ever — but shared staffing caps what it can absorb. 5 min read · July 2026 News & policy Britain's self-pay boom Hips, knees, cataracts and scans, paid from savings and loans. The self-pay decade, analysed. 5 min read · July 2026 News & policy Industrial action and NHS waits Rescheduled appointments, slowed recovery, a 7.3m list: what the data actually shows about strikes and elective care. 4 min read · July 2026 News & policy The renewal switching checklist Renewal season is switching season. The CPME rule, the timeline, and the checklist that keeps cover continuous. 4 min read · July 2026 News & policy What winter does to waiting lists Electives postponed, a January bulge, and why autumn is the time to get referrals moving. 5 min read · July 2026

Costs Cash plans under £15 The honest payback maths on £10–£15/month cash plans: who claims their way into profit, who quietly loses. 4 min read · July 2026 Costs Health insurance cost at every age The 2026 age curve in full: £33/month at 25 to £138 at 75 for mid-level cover — and why the doubling happens. 4 min read · July 2026 Costs The excess sweet spot £0 to £500 excess, 10-20% per step. The break-even maths that points most people to £250-£500. 4 min read · July 2026 Costs Hip replacement in three weeks GP referral to new hip in ~3 weeks privately, vs a 14.1-week NHS median. Timeline and costs, both routes. 4 min read · July 2026 Costs The postcode effect Same person, same cover, higher premium: how hospital cost bases create the London markup — and how to soften it. 4 min read · July 2026 Costs What insurers ask for a quote Age, postcode, smoker, cover level: what each quote question does to your price, and how to prep. 4 min read · July 2026 Costs Renewal letters decoded Three-pass method for renewal letters: decode the increase, find the buried cover changes, and know your CPME switch rights. 4 min read · July 2026 Costs £30 cover vs £90 cover Same person, £60/month apart. Where the money goes: outpatient limits, hospital lists and the excess. 4 min read · July 2026 Costs The true cost of a 40-week wait SSP caps at ~£3,300 a spell. Illustrative maths on what a 40-week wait costs by salary band — versus a premium. 4 min read · July 2026

Rankings The best health insurance right now July 2026 rankings: which of the big six insurers leads for hospitals, mental health, price and service. 4 min read · July 2026 Rankings The claims-paid transparency gap Life insurers publish payout rates. Health insurers mostly don't. Why — and the questions that protect you. 4 min read · July 2026 Rankings Digital GP services compared Blua, Doctor@Hand, Vitality GP and the rest: what's genuinely different between insurers' digital GP apps. 4 min read · July 2026 Rankings Family policies before the school year ENT waits, sports physio, term-time anxiety: why family cover bought in summer beats cover bought in October. 4 min read · July 2026 Rankings Reading insurer complaints data Ombudsman uphold rates are some of the most honest insurer data published. How to read them — and the traps. 4 min read · July 2026 Rankings Mental health cover compared Add-on or core? Direct access or GP referral? How the big six really differ on mental health cover. 4 min read · July 2026 Rankings No-excess policies: which work £0 excess costs ~10-20% extra. Who genuinely benefits from first-pound cover — and who's just tipping the insurer. 4 min read · July 2026 Rankings Over-50s: the smart buys of 2026 From £66/month at 50. Three structures that make over-50s cover affordable: trimmed plans, six-week option, Benenden. 4 min read · July 2026 Rankings Reading satisfaction surveys Trustpilot, structured surveys and awards measure different things. How to weigh each before you buy. 4 min read · July 2026

Explainers Asking AI about health insurance LLMs explain concepts well but stumble on current prices and policy specifics. Where AI helps, where it fails, and what to verify. 5 min read · July 2026 Explainers 'We cover cancer' means eight things Full vs capped, drug funding, aftercare, NHS-linked options — the eight ways 'cancer cover' varies between policies. 5 min read · July 2026 Explainers Cancer drugs: NHS approval and the CDF How NICE and the Cancer Drugs Fund decide what's funded — and the gap private cancer cover addresses. 4 min read · July 2026 Explainers How to choose a private consultant GMC checks, subspecialty fit, the volumes question and secretary logistics: a working checklist for picking a specialist. 5 min read · July 2026 Explainers Your 14-day cooling-off rights 14 days to cancel for a full refund (if you haven't claimed), when the clock starts, and what cancelling looks like after day 14. 4 min read · July 2026 Explainers Your cover at 65, 70 and 75 Renewals continue for life, but premiums climb from ~£102 at 65 to ~£138 at 75 (mid-level). The smart trims vs the false economies. 5 min read · July 2026 Explainers Dental tourism: the full-mouth truth Turkey teeth handled fairly: genuine savings, genuine risks, UK repair costs, and a checklist for those going anyway. 5 min read · July 2026 Explainers Building a family health budget Cover + cash plan + a self-pay pot: three illustrative family health budgets, from around £35 to £250 a month. 5 min read · July 2026 Explainers What HR knows about your scheme Joining windows, leaver rules, BIK tax and upgrade rights — the group-scheme mechanics nobody explains at induction. 4 min read · July 2026 Explainers The clause that picks your consultant Guided referrals swap consultant choice for a lower premium. The trade-off, when it bites, and how to check before you buy. 5 min read · July 2026 Explainers Reading hospital quality data CQC ratings, PHIN private-market data and infection basics — a method for reading quality data, not a league table. 5 min read · July 2026 Explainers Is private health insurance a scam? The sceptic's case, steelmanned — then the honest defence. Verdict: not a scam, but frequently mis-sold and misunderstood. 5 min read · July 2026 Explainers MHFA is not a strategy MHFA signposts; it doesn't treat. The EAP → PMI → GIP layered model that makes the signpost point somewhere. 4 min read · July 2026 Explainers Where moratorium cover goes wrong Undisclosed symptoms, related-condition chains, and the myth that two years clears everything — moratorium's classic failure patterns. 5 min read · July 2026 Explainers 12 health insurance myths Twelve persistent myths — from 'pre-existing means excluded forever' to 'cheap must mean bad' — each busted in a paragraph. 6 min read · July 2026 Explainers The NHS App: what it can actually do Records, repeat prescriptions and referral tracking: the practical NHS App guide, including its honest limits. 4 min read · July 2026 Explainers 'Free at the point of use', examined The NHS principle is real — and so are the edges: prescriptions, dental bands, optical and the rest. A fair map. 4 min read · July 2026 Explainers Physio-first: the smartest route into MSK treatment Why physio-before-imaging usually wins for MSK problems, the direct-access routes in, and when to escalate instead. 4 min read · July 2026 Explainers Private prescriptions: costs and when they're worth it Private scripts vs the NHS flat charge: real costs, when private is faster or necessary, and how to shop the price. 4 min read · July 2026 Explainers Getting a private second opinion When a second opinion is worth £150–£300, how to arrange one, and why asking for one offends nobody. 4 min read · July 2026 Explainers Subscription GP vs health insurance GP subscriptions buy access; insurance funds treatment. Different jobs — and for some people, a case for stacking both. 5 min read · July 2026 Explainers Travel insurance vs health insurance Emergency-abroad cover vs planned UK treatment: what each product excludes and the do-you-need-both logic. 4 min read · July 2026 Explainers Why health insurance brokers are free Insurers pay broker commission out of a premium that's typically the same either way. How it works, and the conflicts stated honestly. 5 min read · July 2026

Workplace What benefits cost per head in 2026 PMI ~£57, cash plans £5–15, GIP ~0.5% of payroll: the 2026 per-head cost of every core benefit, in one table. 4 min read · July 2026 Workplace Four-day weeks and health benefits The free Friday is a real benefit — but it doesn't see a consultant for you. Where health cover fits a four-day firm. 4 min read · July 2026 Workplace Desk jobs are an MSK problem too Backs, necks and wrists break down at desks too — and the T&O queue runs a 14.1-week median. Why fast physio pays. 4 min read · July 2026 Workplace Presenteeism: the hidden absence problem Working-while-ill never makes the absence spreadsheet — and research suggests it may cost more than absence itself. 4 min read · July 2026 Workplace The retention maths for founders Churn is commonly estimated at 6–9 months' salary per leaver. Benefits cost ~£684 a year per head. Do the division. 4 min read · July 2026 Workplace Salary sacrifice: what still works Pensions, bikes and EVs still work. Health insurance doesn't — and hasn't since OpRA. The 2026 landscape. 4 min read · July 2026 Workplace A health scheme live in five days Census Monday, quotes midweek, decision Thursday, live Friday. The realistic small-firm timeline — honestly caveated. 4 min read · July 2026 Workplace Britain's sickness absence problem 9.4 sick days per employee, £103bn a year in costs — and what the employers managing it well do differently. 4 min read · July 2026 Workplace How small firms beat corporate benefits You can't outspend a corporate benefits booklet — but you can out-design it. The SME playbook. 4 min read · July 2026 Workplace Startup benefits: seed to Series B Pension at pre-seed, cash plan at seed, PMI around Series A, full stack by B — the typical UK startup ladder. 4 min read · July 2026

Local Private GPs in London: costs and how to choose £80–£150 a visit, usually same-day. London's private GP landscape — clinics, memberships and digital — decoded. 5 min read · July 2026 Local Private hospitals in Birmingham: your options Spire Parkway, The Priory and the Edgbaston medical quarter — Birmingham's private hospital options mapped. 5 min read · July 2026 Local Private hospitals in Bristol and the South West Spire Bristol, Nuffield Bristol and Circle Bath — plus an honest look at private capacity across the South West. 5 min read · July 2026 Local Private hospitals in Leeds and Yorkshire Spire Leeds, Nuffield Health Leeds and the wider Yorkshire picture — private hospital options across the region. 5 min read · July 2026 Local London's private hospitals: a field guide The Wellington to Cleveland Clinic: London's notable private hospitals, and why your insurer's list decides access. 5 min read · July 2026 Local Private hospitals in Manchester: your options Spire Manchester, The Alexandra at Cheadle and The Christie Private Care — Manchester's private options mapped. 5 min read · July 2026 Local Spire vs Nuffield vs Circle vs HCA: the hospital groups compared Circle, Spire, Nuffield and HCA run most UK private hospitals. Who's who — and what it means for your cover. 5 min read · July 2026 Local Northern Ireland's waiting lists: a case apart NI's waits are the UK's most severe, on years of published data. Private Belfast options and the cross-border route. 5 min read · July 2026 Local Private healthcare in Cardiff and South Wales Spire Cardiff, Nuffield Vale, Welsh waiting-list context and self-pay costs across South Wales. 5 min read · July 2026 Local Private healthcare in Edinburgh Spire Murrayfield, Nuffield Health Edinburgh, insurer hospital lists and self-pay — the Edinburgh picture. 5 min read · July 2026 Local Private healthcare in Glasgow Ross Hall, Nuffield Health Glasgow, insurer lists and self-pay — private healthcare across the west of Scotland. 5 min read · July 2026 Local Private healthcare in Liverpool and Merseyside Spire Liverpool, the Wirral and regional options — private healthcare across Merseyside. 5 min read · July 2026 Local Private healthcare in Newcastle and the North East Nuffield Newcastle, Spire Washington and an honest look at the North East's thinner private capacity. 5 min read · July 2026 Local Private healthcare in Sheffield and South Yorkshire Claremont, Thornbury and the South Yorkshire picture — hospitals, insurer lists and self-pay costs. 5 min read · July 2026 Local Scotland: private healthcare and NHS waits Scotland's NHS measures waits its own way. What that means for private options in Glasgow and Edinburgh. 5 min read · July 2026 Local Wales: the longest waits in Britain? Welsh NHS waits have generally run longer than England's. The data, the border question, and private options. 5 min read · July 2026

Speedwell Health Speedwell Health for business: the hub 100 guides on group cover, tax and absence — the business hub is live. Schemes from 2 employees. 4 min read · July 2026 Speedwell Health Introducing our NHS waiting times tool 144 treatments, real May 2026 NHS data, the median and the 1-in-12 tail — updated monthly. 4 min read · July 2026 Speedwell Health Why we built Speedwell Health 7.3 million waiting, a jargon-wrapped market, and comparison-site noise. The founding argument for Speedwell Health. 4 min read · July 2026