Quarterly data from the Private Healthcare Information Network (PHIN) indicates that UK businesses are a significant factor in the growth of the private healthcare sector.
Research by independent consultancy Broadstone shows that insured admissions reached 171,000 in the first quarter of the year, matching the highest number of Private Medical Insurance (PMI)-funded admissions recorded in a single quarter.
This follows a record 664,000 insured admissions in 2024, as more employers seek to expand health coverage for their employees. Broadstone’s review of the latest FCA Financial Lives Survey found that approximately 14% of UK adults now have PMI, equating to 7.6 million people, up from 6.7 million in 2020.
The UK private health insurance market has demonstrated resilience in early 2025, with PMI-funded admissions slightly increasing even as overall private hospital admissions declined by 1% compared to the first quarter of 2024. This marks the first year-on-year decline in Q1 activity since 2021, but volumes remained the second-highest ever recorded.
The demand for private healthcare is expected to rise further, given the ongoing NHS treatment backlog. The number of people waiting for treatment increased to 7.40 million in July 2025, up from 7.37 million in June.
In total, there were 241,000 private health admissions in the first quarter of 2025. However, self-pay activity has levelled off, with 70,000 treatments recorded in the first quarter, marking the first year-on-year decline for this period.
Regional trends have diverged, with Scotland and Northern Ireland both recording increases in total private admissions in Q1 2025 – Scotland saw a 5% rise and Northern Ireland 1.6%. England, which dominates the market, experienced a 1.3% fall, and Wales dipped 0.5%.
Notably, insurance-backed admissions rose sharply in Scotland (10%) and Northern Ireland (5.2%), while the South East of England saw a 4.5% decline, offsetting growth in the Midlands. These regional variations reflect differing levels of demand and access across the UK.
Brett Hill (pictured above), head of health & protection at Broadstone, noted that employer demand for preventative healthcare services, insurance, and health cash plans is “turbocharging the private healthcare sector.”
He added that businesses benefit from keeping staff healthy and productive, while employees are able to access medical care quickly and affordably.
The broader context for this shift is the rising level of long-term sickness in the UK workforce. As of mid-2025, 2.78 million people are economically inactive due to long-term illness, up from just over two million in 2019. The proportion of working-age people with at least one long-term health condition has also risen to 36% in early 2023, underscoring the growing importance of timely access to healthcare.
Hill also pointed to the backlog for NHS treatment, which accelerated during the pandemic, as a key driver behind the growth of the private health market. Hill said that while the Government has made limited progress in reducing waiting times, significant improvements in service levels appear unlikely in the near future.
As a result, Broadstone expects more businesses to provide access to private healthcare for their employees, with insured admissions likely to continue increasing.
The economic impact of ill health is substantial. In 2024, 148.9 million working days were lost to sickness or injury in the UK, averaging 4.4 sick days per worker. The average number of sick days per company has increased by more than 50% since 2019, reflecting the mounting pressures on both employers and the public health system (Insurance Business UK).
Hill further explained that rising claims and the need for more complex, costly treatments – often due to delayed care – are already pushing up premiums, which is affecting the affordability of health insurance products.
“If the Government is serious about alleviating some of the strain on the NHS and driving economic growth, it must recognise the critical role businesses are playing. We hope it considers a targeted Insurance Premium Tax break for health insurance products at the upcoming Autumn Budget to boost access, ease pressure on public services, and keep the workforce thriving,” he said.
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