Insurance-funded private healthcare admissions reached a record level in the first half of 2025 but new data suggests the rapid growth of recent years may finally be slowing – offering potential relief for employers facing steep rises in medical insurance premiums.
Analysis of the latest PHIN data by Broadstone, the UK consultancy, shows that 338,000 treatments were funded by Private Medical Insurance (PMI) in H1 2025, the highest first-half figure on record.
The total represents a marginal rise on the 336,000 admissions recorded in the same period last year, but a sharp increase of 17% compared with before the pandemic, when 290,000 PMI-funded admissions were logged in H1 2019.
The figures underline the continuing shift towards private healthcare as NHS waiting lists remain significantly elevated.
Waiting times have risen from 4.24 million people in March 2020 to 7.37 million as of June 2025. Although the backlog appears to have stabilised at around 7.4 million, progress on reducing the queue has stalled amid renewed industrial action across the NHS.
Broadstone said the tempering of PMI-funded activity may indicate that claims inflation – which has pushed up renewal prices for corporate schemes – is starting to moderate.
PMI BRIDGING THE GAP
Brett Hill, head of health and protection at Broadstone, said: “The rapid and sustained growth in PMI-funded admissions since the pandemic is a clear signal of how dramatically healthcare demand has shifted.
“As the NHS continues to face significant strain, Private Medical Insurance has increasingly stepped in to bridge the gap – ensuring people can access timely diagnoses and treatment that would otherwise be delayed.
“PMI-funded health services are now critical to both the resilience of the nation’s healthcare system and the wellbeing of the workforce.
“It enables faster treatment of conditions before they become more complex, costly and time-consuming.”
KEEPING PEOPLE HEALTHY
Hil added: “This is why, alongside its contribution to the wider NHS, PMI represents one of the most valuable investments a business can make to keep their people healthy and productive.
“However, in recent years many employers have seen benefit costs increase, as a surge in claims by employees who cannot access NHS services has driven up premiums at renewal.
“While self-pay admissions have been plateauing for a while, this year’s slowdown in PMI-funded admissions is a welcome sign that claims inflation is beginning to cool. This should help to alleviate some of the upward premium pressure that employers have been feeling, and allow them to refocus on expanding the provision of health benefits across their workforce.”
