There were 238,000 hospital admissions funded by private medical insurance (PMI) in the first quarter of this year, a rise of 6% year-on-year, according to new data.

There were more private hospital admissions paid for by PMI than any previous quarter on record, according to a report from the Private Healthcare Information Network (PHIN).

The biggest increases in PMI-funded admissions came in the 20-29 and 30-39 age groups which were both up by 13%.

There were nearly 100,000 more admissions paid for by private medical insurance than by those ‘self-paying’. This is the biggest gap in the payment methods since before the Covid pandemic (Q4 2019).

Emily Jones, client consulting director at employee benefits and actuarial consultancy Broadstone, said she expected private hospital admissions to continue to rise as NHS waiting lists continued to lengthen.

She said: “It is little surprise that this trend is being almost entirely driven by private medical insurance as employers recognise the threat of poor health which has manifested itself in soaring economic inactivity figures.

"As a consequence, our clients have elevated healthcare to a board level priority as they look to rapidly expand coverage of PMI and put in place preventative steps like access to virtual GPs, direct access services and on-site health screenings.

“These strategies aim to help employees catch health issues earlier and then ensure the rapid treatment needed to avoid to more complex, expensive treatments. Until NHS waiting lists come down significantly, we expect to see continued corporate investment in private healthcare solutions to support the wellbeing of their staff.”

PHIN’s national private dataset excludes outpatient diagnostics and mental health.