Small medical expenses don’t seem too bad by themselves, but regular dental check-ups and buying a pair of glasses can quickly add up. Health cash plans are designed to give you money towards optical, dental and other treatments without forcing you to fork out for expensive insurance premiums, potentially saving money as a result.

It is really a way of budgeting each month for medical and healthcare expenses. You pay money in every month and then if you have a treatment for something or have to go to hospital, you get a cash “rebate”.It may sound a bit like the better known Private Medical Insurance (PMI) except it is generally cheaper and you are pretty much guaranteed to get at least some, if not all of your money back by the end of the year.

However, it is important to appreciate that health cash plans do not care for your health in the same way as PMI:

• Instead of covering the costs of private healthcare in case you need big operations or specialist consultations, health cash plans aim to alleviate all your non-NHS bills and help you maintain your health to avoid the need for big operations.
• They cover treatments which would not be covered by PMI.
• To become a member of a plan, you do not have to undergo any medical examinations and your premiums are not related to the condition of your health.

However, just like PMI, a health cash plan does have limits on how much it will contribute to your costs.  First of all, each benefit states the percentage of the costs that it will cover. For example for opticians and dental costs it is often 100%. But for other it might only cover 75% of costs. Secondly, each benefit also has a maximum annual payout depending on how much you pay a month. For example, if the limit for optical care was £75 a year, then the company will pay your first £75 of optical care claims that year. After that you will have to foot the bill yourself.

The majority of health cash plan providers are charitable or non-profit organizations and as a result, payments are often cheaper and claiming is easier. Joining these schemes is also very easy, you can either apply online or download a printable registration form which you then fill out and send off to the company. You will be asked for some details and medical history as some of the providers will not cover any pre-existing conditions you have.

Finally, as with other financial plans you just need to be careful to check the terms and conditions of these plans to see if they are going to be suitable for your needs. Read these carefully before you proceed.