Bupa Spider Vein Removal: What You Need To Know

If you're looking for the best treatment for your thread veins (also known as spider veins), you might be wondering if it will be covered by your health insurance. The answer to this question all depends on who your insurer is and what cover you have.

Firstly, you won’t be able to get your thread veins treated on the NHS. Unfortunately thread vein treatments are considered by the NHS to be cosmetic in nature, and therefore they’re not covered. Even when it comes to varicose veins, the NHS will only cover treatment if they’re severe enough to cause pain and physical discomfort. 

As thread veins are smaller and don’t cause this kind of pain, their treatment won’t be covered. But that doesn’t mean that some private health insurers won’t cover the treatment.

Total Cover By Bupa

UK Vein Clinic has been working closely with Bupa to agree terms for medical insurance holders. The result of this agreement is that patients insured with Bupa are covered in full for all fees for thread vein treatments by their Bupa insurance policy, with no hidden or unexpected fees.

To achieve this, UK Vein Clinic have agreed a range of prices from the 1st January 2020 that ensure all thread vein treatments provided under a Bupa policy should be fully funded. This agreement covers all consultations, scans, treatment with Veinwave or sclerotherapy, and aftercare.

‍The benefits for Bupa members include:

• The UK Vein Clinic’s thread vein procedures and technology are clinically proven to give the best results for Bupa patients.
• Consultation and treatment from our award winning team of surgeons, scientists and practitioners, led by Professor Stephen Black.
• No shortfall in policy cover for Bupa members. All the costs are agreed in advance with Bupa, which means that there are no hidden fees.
• If required, the UK Vein Clinic can arrange pre-authorisation with Bupa for you.
• Pricing includes our full aftercare package, including follow up consultations and scans.
• The UK Vein Clinic treatment guarantees that thread veins that have been treated will be successfully closed or retreated.

What is involved in removing spider veins?

The process for treating thread veins starts with a consultation with one of our specialists. During this consultation the specialist will diagnose the extent of the issue and advise as to the best pathway for treatment.

Thread veins are small, damaged veins and so the best way to remove them is not through surgery, but rather to get the body to reabsorb them naturally. The most effective way to do this is through a Veinwave treatment, which is a form of thermocoagulation. While this may sound very technical, it’s actually a very simple procedure. 

The process involves applying a very localised source of heat to the damaged vein. This collapses and blocks the vein, which then prompts the body to absorb it naturally. Once the veins have been absorbed they won’t be visible under the surface of the skin any more, and so the red, visible thread veins disappear.

Veinwave is a completely non-invasive treatment, which means that it’s virtually painless and doesn’t cause any extra damage to the surrounding skin. This means that patients walk in and out of the clinic on the day of their treatment. There is an aftercare procedure to follow, and patients return for a final consultation to confirm that the thread veins are indeed gone for good. If not, then another treatment can be booked at no extra cost.

How do I get started?

The first step to getting your thread veins treated is to book your initial consultation. When booking an appointment for thread vein treatment as a Bupa member, our clinical triage team will ask you for details of your GP referral, Bupa membership number and any pre-authorisations you have received from Bupa.

If any information is missing at this stage from Bupa, we will follow up with them directly to ensure your treatment has been approved.