Western Provident Association

Non profit organizations specialized in medical insurance

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Western Provident Association

Company type| Provident Association based in the United Kingdom
Industry| Health insurance
Founded| 1901
Headquarters| Taunton, Somerset, UK

Key people

| Nathan Irwin, Chief Executive

Number of employees

| 366 (2024)
Website| www.wpa.org.uk

Western Provident Association (WPA) is a not-for-profit private medical insurance firm and provident association based in Taunton, Somerset, England. Its subsidiary, WPA Protocol Plc, administers corporate healthcare trusts.[1]

## History[edit]

In 1901, a group of workers founded the Reading Work People's Voluntary Hospital Contributory Fund to cover the costs of health care for their members. In 1939, it merged with the Bristol Hospital Fund, and in 1949 it was renamed the Western Provident Association for Hospital and Nursing Home Services (WPA).[2][3] In 1992, WPA moved from Bristol to a specially designed building in Taunton, Somerset.

WPA was an early participant in the market for private health insurance to supplement the UK National Health Service services, with WPA being the smallest player.[4] In the mid-1980s and early 1990's almost all private health insurance in the UK -- 96% in 1984 -- was provided by just three carriers including WPA.[5] [6]

WPA was described by the World Health Organization as a leader in the development of coinsurance, or "shared responsibility", policies, in which the patient pays a portion of the liability until an agreed limit.[7]

### WPA vs. Norwich Union Healthcare[edit]

In 1997, Norwich Union staff falsely claimed over internal e-mails that WPA was insolvent. WPA sued for defamation. Norwich Union made a High Court apology and paid £450,000 in damages and costs to settle the case.[8][9] This was a landmark case because it was the first time e-mail was admitted as evidence in a British court.[10]

### Cancer Drugs and NHS Top-Up Controversy[edit]

In 2007, WPA launched a new insurance plan which provided a health "top-up", supplementing NHS treatment, including cancer drugs which the NHS had not approved for use.[11] Subsequently, other insurance companies entered the top-up market, leading to criticism has been levelled, including from the union Unison, which stated that the products would undermine the values of the NHS and risk creating a two-tier system in health care.[12] The NHS attempted at the time to levy additional charges to patients receiving such benefits, and WPA claimed to have received legal advice saying such payments were unlawful.[13][14][15]

## WPA Protocol Subsidiary[edit]

WPA also administers corporate healthcare trusts under the WPA Protocol Plc subsidiary.[16] This is an alternative arrangement to private medical insurance whereby larger companies, defined by Protocol as usually those with 400 or more members, can use WPA's infrastructure to administer their own healthcare provision. Companies provide the funds from a trust, and WPA Protocol provides bespoke literature and telephone lines,[17] as well as staff, infrastructure and economies of scale.

Trusts are not charged insurance premium tax and staff are considered to be more likely to claim responsibly from their own company as opposed to an insurer. Savings are estimated to be 7% compared to being fully insured.[17]

## References[edit]

1. ^ Mencher, Samuel (1968-10-15). British Private Medical Practice and the National Health Service. University of Pittsburgh Pre. ISBN 978-0-8229-7570-0.
2. ^ "Provident Association for Hospital and Additional Medical Services". The Lancet. 202 (5212): 137. 21 July 1923. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(01)37834-0. ISSN 0140-6736.
3. ^ Dodd, John (1957). The Story of the Western Provident Association for Hospital and Nursing Home Services, 1945-1956. Reprinted from the Bristol Chamber of Commerce Journal ; vol. xxxl. nos. 8,11,12, vol. xxxll. no.l. (1956-57). p. 16.
4. ^ Gray, C. (1980-04-05). "Private health insurance in Britain: public opting out of NHS". Canadian Medical Association Journal. 122 (7): 810–817. ISSN 0008-4409. PMC 1801881. PMID 7363249.
5. ^ "Private medicine: the NHS's safety valve". British Medical Journal. 302 (6769): 164–165. 19 January 1991. doi:10.1136/bmj.302.6769.164. PMC 1668805. PMID 1995139.
6. ^ Maynard, Alan (16 June 1984). "Private practice: answer or irrelevance?". British Medical Journal. 288 (6433): 1849–1851. doi:10.1136/bmj.288.6433.1849. PMC 1441868. PMID 6428572.
7. ^ "Private Medical Insurance in the United Kingdom". World Health Organization. Archived from the original on May 31, 2010. Retrieved 2010-06-15.
8. ^ "Letting Go of E-mail". Information Age. Retrieved 2006-02-10.
9. ^ Langford-Wood, Naomi (1999). Successful use of e-mail in a week. Internet Archive. London : Hodder & Stoughton. p. 92\. ISBN 978-0-340-73048-5.
10. ^ "Mail, News and More". Exeter University. Archived from the original on 2011-08-27. Retrieved 2010-06-15.
11. ^ Hawkes, Nigel (2024-04-09). "Insurance policy promises to supply the cancer drugs NHS will not pay for". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
12. ^ "Insurance firms eye top-up market". BBC News. 2008-11-07. Retrieved 2008-11-07.
13. ^ Priority setting: managing individual funding requests (PDF). NHS Confederation. 1 January 2008.
14. ^ Sikora, K.; James, N. (February 2009). "Top-up Payments in Cancer Care". Clinical Oncology. 21 (1): 1–5. doi:10.1016/j.clon.2008.11.002. ISSN 0936-6555. PMID 19038536.
15. ^ Top Up Fees: Written Evidence (PDF). UK House of Commons. 22 January 2009. p. 69.
16. ^ "Wpa Protocol PLC - Company Profile and News". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
17. ^ a b "DIY PMI". Health Insurance Magazine. Retrieved 2010-06-15.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

## External links[edit]

* Official website WPA website
* WPA Protocol PLC website (2018 archive)

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* United States