Most UK health cash plan providers pay back for the same everyday bills (dental, optical, physiotherapy and the like), so the real differences between them are the number of levels, the yearly limits at each level, the percentage paid back and the waiting periods. This page sets out who sells plans to individuals now, what each says about itself, and where they part company. Cash plan or medical insurance is the first choice to make, and an FCA-authorised broker can weigh the two for you after you send your name and number through the form on this page.
Who sells cash plans to individuals: Westfield, Medicash, Sovereign, BHSF and Paycare
On 2 November 2026, four providers offered a personal plan on their own websites: Westfield Health, Medicash, Sovereign Health Care and BHSF. Paycare's pages are aimed at employers, though its plan finder points firms with under five employees to a "Direct" plan for individuals.
| Provider | Personal plan | Levels | Starting price the provider shows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Westfield Health | Good4you Health Cash Plan | Five | From £8.58 a month for one adult (£17.16 for you and your partner) |
| Medicash | Personal health plan | Compare plans on its site | From £7.20 a month |
| Sovereign Health Care | Good All Round | Five | From £2.28 a week |
| BHSF | Personal health cash plan | Four | From £9.63 (bronze personal cover, including Insurance Premium Tax; premiums are paid monthly) |
| Paycare | Mainly company-paid and employee-paid schemes | Via plan finder | No price published on its plan pages |
Each is a "from" price on the provider's own page, for its lowest level. It is not what a particular reader will pay, and the figures change. Benenden Health says it has partnered with BHSF to support its cash plan, so the name on the front is not always the only company behind a plan; Benenden advertises five levels where BHSF's own page says four.
Simplyhealth and Bupa also sell cash plans and have their own pages here: Simplyhealth's levels and the Bupa cash plan.
What separates a cash plan from medical insurance
A cash plan hands back part of a bill you have already paid, up to a limit for each benefit. Private medical insurance is built for the large, unplanned bill of treating an eligible condition. Medicash describes its plans as reimbursing "up to the annual limit within each category", and Sovereign says it pays 100% of dental and optical costs up to the level's limit and 50% of most other costs. On these plans a hospital stay brings a fixed cash sum rather than payment of the hospital's bill: Sovereign, for example, pays a set daily amount for up to seven days or nights a year. How the monthly cost compares is on the cash plan cost page, and tax on an employer-paid plan is on the HMRC page.
Levels and yearly limits: the biggest gap between providers
Westfield's page lists five levels with the cash back available at the bottom and top of the range:
| Westfield Health | Level 1 | Level 5 |
|---|---|---|
| Price for you alone | £8.58 a month | £52.35 a month |
| Optical, up to | £45 | £295 |
| Dental, up to | £45 | £255 |
| Therapy treatments, up to | £200 | £1250 |
Sovereign's five levels run from £60 to £180 for optical, from £16 to £48 for prescriptions, vaccinations and inoculations, and from £200 to £600 for physiotherapy, osteopathy, chiropractic and sports massage. Optical is refunded in full up to the limit, while prescriptions and those therapies pay back half of what you spend. Sovereign's own worked example for level 2 costs £15.60 a person a month and pays back £241.45 on £336.30 of treatment. The example is Sovereign's, not a forecast of what anyone will claim.
Two points follow. The same word, "level 3", means different money at each provider, so compare the limits for the bills you expect rather than the label. And the limits only matter against what you would spend anyway: a £255 dental limit is worth nothing if you pay £60 a year at the dentist. Laying your own yearly spend beside two or three of these tables is something a broker can do with you by phone.
Waiting periods and pre-existing conditions
Westfield says you can claim "straight away for any treatment carried out and paid for on or after your start date", with the maternity, paternity and adoption benefit excepted, and presents this as a special offer that waives its usual waiting periods. Its list of what is not covered still excludes claims for pre-existing conditions you have had in the last 12 months, apart from optical and dental. Sovereign likewise allows claims from day one, but some benefits carry a six-month qualifying period for pre-existing conditions, and it says "No medical is needed to join Sovereign Health Care, although qualifying periods for pre-existing conditions do apply to some benefits."
Medicash and BHSF set longer exclusions on hospital benefits. Medicash lists "Pre-existing conditions for hospital benefits are not covered for 3 years", a 12-month qualifying period for the birth and adoption benefit, and no cover for optical items ordered in the two months before the policy starts. BHSF lists no treatments bought before the start date or within 13 weeks, "Hospital benefits for any pre-existing conditions within the first 2 years", and no maternity or paternity claim where the child is born or adopted in the first 10 months.
Joining rules differ too. Sovereign's personal plan is for people aged 18 or over and under 66 who live permanently in the UK, and everyone pays the same price regardless of age or medical history.
Practitioners, claims and extras
Westfield says you can use "any practitioner registered with, or a member of, an approved professional organisation", while Sovereign names bodies such as the HCPC for physiotherapists and the General Osteopathic Council for osteopaths. BHSF publishes a separate list of accepted therapies and practitioners. Check the register before booking, because a treatment from an unrecognised practitioner may not be paid.
Extras vary. Westfield includes a GP phone line, advice line, gym and shopping discounts, and Medicash lists a virtual GP, the SkinVision app and a 24/7 mental health helpline. Paycare's pages say an employee assistance helpline and GP 24/7 service are included in the plan cost. Children are covered at no extra cost with BHSF and Sovereign (up to four dependent children under 18), and Westfield covers them on key benefits.
Westfield, BHSF, Medicash, Paycare and Health Shield: quick answers
What is a Westfield Health cash plan?
It is Westfield's Good4you Health Cash Plan, a not-for-profit provider's plan with five levels, paid out on dental, optical, therapies, chiropody and a fixed hospital payment. Claims are made online.
What is a BHSF health cash plan?
BHSF sells four personal levels, with money back on dental, optical, therapies, chiropody and diagnostic consultations. Benenden Health says it has partnered with BHSF on its own cash plan.
What is a Medicash health cash plan?
It is a personal plan with cashback on dental, optical, therapies and consultations, plus cash payouts for hospital stays, day case surgery and a new baby. Medicash says there is no minimum contract.
Does a cash plan cover someone over 65?
Sovereign's plan accepts applicants under 66. Benenden Health's benefit table pays its hospital stay, day case surgery and personal accident benefits at half the stated amounts if an insured adult was 75 or over at the start date.
Is Paycare a plan I can buy for myself?
Its website is mostly for companies, with a Direct plan mentioned for very small firms. Ask Paycare directly before assuming a personal plan is open to you.
Where does Health Shield fit?
Health Shield's plans are not set out in the tables on this page, so its levels, limits and prices are not compared here. How one of its plans measures up against the providers above is a fair question to put, free, to the broker on your call-back.
Choosing between a cash plan and medical insurance, or between two providers, depends on the bills you actually expect. Ready to compare for real? This page's form puts a broker on the phone to you, free of charge, to sort the cash plan question one way or the other.