Medicash Cash Plan Review — from £1.75/week

Medicash reimburses dental, optical and physio costs from £1.75/week. Our verdict on the claim limits, who benefits and when full PMI is the better buy.

What Medicash cover includes

Liverpool-based mutual friendly society — one of the UK's largest and longest-running health cash plan providers.

Medicash is a UK mutual friendly society with more than 150 years of trading heritage — one of the country's oldest and largest specialist health cash plan providers. Its individual proposition, Proactive, runs across six escalating levels (Level 1 through Level 6) with monthly premiums from around £1.75 per week for a single adult on Level 1 up to about £40+ per month on Level 6. Every level pays cash back into your bank account after you pay the dentist, optician, physio or therapist directly and upload the receipt inside the Medicash app. Because it's a mutual, surplus is reinvested rather than paid out as shareholder dividend — one reason Medicash's claim limits have historically trended up rather than being squeezed at renewal.

Medicash at a glance

• Established: 1871 as the Liverpool Hospital Saturday Fund. Trading as Medicash since 1996.
• Head office: Liverpool, Merseyside.
• Regulation: Medicash Health Benefits Ltd is authorised by the PRA and regulated by the FCA and PRA (FRN 202607).
• Best suited to: Individuals with regular dental / optical spend; Families with kids in braces or physio; SMEs adding a genuine everyday-health benefit for staff
• Indicative starting premium: £1.75/week
• PremierPMI broker rating: 4.6 out of 5
• Corporate structure: Mutual friendly society — member-owned, no shareholders
• Trading since: 1871 (as Liverpool Hospital Saturday Fund)
• Flagship individual product: Proactive — Level 1 through Level 6
• Digital services included: 24/7 GP video, mental-health support, discounted gym network, Skin Care Anywhere dermatology
• Corporate offering: Medicash Extras — SME and corporate cash plans from ~£8/employee/month

Medicash plan tiers compared

Benefit limits, line by line

Indicative Medicash premiums by age

Illustrative desk figures, not quotes — every premium is individually underwritten.

Making a claim

• 1. Pay the practitioner — You attend the dentist, optician, physio or specialist and pay them directly — Medicash does not settle invoices at the point of care.
• 2. Upload the receipt — Open the Medicash app, snap the itemised invoice, choose the benefit category, submit. Most claims are decided inside 2–3 working days.
• 3. Cash paid into your account — Approved claims are paid straight into the nominated bank account. There's no in-network requirement — you can use any UK practitioner.
• 4. Track your annual limits — The Medicash app shows how much of each category limit you've used and when it resets, so you can plan bigger claims (crowns, orthodontics, glasses) inside the benefit year.

Where Medicash stands out

• 150+ year mutual heritage — member-owned, structurally aligned with claim payouts rather than shareholder dividends.
• 24/7 GP video consultations included on every level — no waiting for an NHS GP slot.
• Skin Care Anywhere dermatology and mywellness Employee Assistance-style support on Levels 2 and above.
• You can use any UK dentist / optician / physio — no restricted network.
• Kids under 16 typically covered free with a paying adult, up to a set number of children per household — genuinely valuable for families.

Watch-outs before you buy

• A cash plan is not PMI — Medicash does not fund hospital-level acute treatment, private consultants for treatment (rather than diagnosis) or full cancer pathways. If you want private surgery cover, you need PMI alongside.
• You pay providers directly and claim back — cashflow-friendly households only.
• Level 1 limits are modest. For most claimants Level 2 or 3 is the value sweet-spot; Level 5 and 6 only make sense if you know you'll hit the higher limits.
• Annual limits reset each policy year — big-ticket dental work should be planned across the year boundary if needed.

PremierPMI broker desk notes

• For most individual PremierPMI clients considering Medicash, we recommend Level 2 or Level 3 as the value sweet-spot — the jump from Level 1's £70 dental to Level 2's £140 dental limit typically pays for the level upgrade in a single check-up plus one filling.
• For SMEs, we frequently pair a mid-range PMI scheme with Medicash Extras cash plan — the PMI covers acute hospital events, the cash plan covers everyday dental/optical/physio and materially improves perceived scheme value at trivial premium loading.
• Medicash is the cleanest cash plan to combine alongside a Bupa, AXA or Aviva PMI policy — there's no double-cover clash because the benefit categories don't overlap.
• We rarely recommend Level 6 for straightforward households — the extra premium is only justified where the client already spends £400+/year on dental and £400+/year on physio.

Medicash compared with other insurers

Broker verdict

Medicash is the mutual heritage pick — the right cash-plan recommendation when a household wants meaningful dental and optical limits, kids covered free with a paying adult, 24/7 digital GP and a level ladder that scales from £7/month starter cover to comprehensive everyday-health support.

Best for: Best for families and heavy dental/optical spenders wanting a mutual cash plan.

Common questions

Is Medicash health insurance?

No — Medicash is a health cash plan, not private medical insurance. A cash plan reimburses everyday health spend (dental, optical, physio, therapies) up to fixed annual limits. Private medical insurance funds hospital-level acute treatment. Many households buy both — they don't overlap.

How much does Medicash cost per month?

Medicash Proactive Level 1 for a single adult starts from around £1.75 per week (~£7.60/month). Level 2 sits around £11/month, Level 3 around £16/month, and the top Level 6 tier is around £40+/month. Kids are typically covered free with a paying adult up to a household limit.

Can I claim on Medicash straight away?

Most Medicash Proactive benefit categories are available immediately from the policy start date. Some higher-value categories (major dental treatment, orthodontics) can be subject to a qualifying period — usually 3–6 months from cover start. Always check the specific category qualifying period on the live schedule before booking a big-ticket appointment.

Do I have to use a specific dentist or optician with Medicash?

No — Medicash lets you use any UK dentist, optician, physiotherapist, osteopath or chiropractor. You pay them directly, upload the invoice via the Medicash app, and Medicash pays cash back into your bank account within a few working days.

Is Medicash a mutual?

Yes — Medicash Health Benefits Ltd is a mutual friendly society, member-owned, with no external shareholders. It's one of the UK's oldest mutuals, tracing its heritage to the Liverpool Hospital Saturday Fund founded in 1871. Any surplus is reinvested in member benefits rather than paid out as shareholder dividend.

Is Medicash worth it for a family?

For families with regular dental appointments, orthodontic treatment for children, or reasonably active kids seeing a physio, Medicash typically pays for itself inside a benefit year — especially at Level 2 or Level 3 where the dental and optical limits materially exceed most annual family spend on those categories. Kids covered free with a paying adult is the biggest single family value lever.

Price basis: Illustrative adult-only price on the provider's lowest cash plan tier, before any employer subsidy. Adding partner or family cover and moving up tiers increases the price.

PremierPMI is a UK private medical insurance broker specialising in whole-of-market placement across 10+ leading UK health insurers including Bupa, AXA Health, Aviva, Vitality, WPA, Freedom Health, The Exeter, General & Medical and National Friendly. FCA regulated (Tesha Family Ltd, FRN 1029667). Speak to a broker on 020 4525 0884, WhatsApp 020 8064 2273, or email contact@premierpmi.co.uk.