Bupa
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This article relies on references to primary sources or sources affiliated with the subject, rather than references from independent authors and third-party publications. Please add citations from reliable sources. (June 2010) |
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| Type | Company limited by guarantee |
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| Industry | Healthcare |
| Founded | 1947 |
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom |
| Key people | Stuart Fletcher, CEO |
| Products | health insurance, care homes, health at work services, health assessments |
| Revenue |  £7.58 Billion GBP (2010) |
| Net income | £464.9 million GBP (2010) |
| Employees | 52,000 (2009) [1] |
| Website | www.bupa.com |
Bupa (pronounced /buːpə/) is a large British healthcare organisation, with bases on three continents and more than ten million customers in over 200 countries. It is a private healthcare company, an alternative to the UK's National Health Service (NHS), which is a tax-funded healthcare systems and does not require private health insurance in order to gain access to hospitals and medical services.
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[edit] Background
Bupa (originally, the British United Provident Association) was established in 1947 when 17 British provident associations joined together to provide healthcare for the general public. The original services offered by Bupa included private medical insurance, and eventually expanded to include privately-run Bupa hospitals. Bupa had an initial registration of 38,000 when founded, but currently[when?] has over 11 million members worldwide, and is the largest private health insurance provider in the UK.
It was founded before the advent of the National Health Service (NHS) in 1947 as a provident organisation. Initially, it was purely a UK health insurance provider, offering policies to individuals, companies and other organisations. This continues to be the largest business within the company and around 80 percent of the UK's FTSE 100 are customers.
Over the years, it has diversified [2] away from its core health insurance business and is now an international healthcare company with services that include Travel insurance, health insurance, care homes, health assessments, occupational health services and hospitals. The firm is a private company limited by guarantee; it has no shareholders, and any profits (after tax) are reinvested in the business.[3]
[edit] Operations
The company has its head office in central London, with main UK contact centres in Staines and Salford Quays. There are also offices in Brighton (Bupa International), Leeds (Bupa Care Services), and Harlow (Bupa Home Healthcare) in the UK, Adelaide, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne in Australia (Bupa Australia and Bupa Aged Care Australia), Madrid (Sanitas), Boston (Health Dialog), Beijing (Bupa China), Hong Kong (Bupa Hong Kong), Jedda (Bupa Arabia), Bangkok (Bupa Thailand), and Miami (for Bupa Latin America).
The firm also owns several healthcare companies overseas including Spain's largest healthcare company, Sanitas, and acquired ihi Danmark and Amedex (Miami, US) in September 2005. In November 2006, it acquired Clinovia, now known as Bupa Home Healthcare, the UK's home healthcare specialist, in a move that gave Bupa new opportunities in expanding out of hospital care. In December 2007, it purchased DCA Agedcare Group in Australia and New Zealand, making it a leading player in these markets. Also in December 2007, it announced the purchase of Health Dialog,[4] a provider of chronic condition management and "shared decision making" services.
In 2007, the company announced plans to sell its UK hospitals, to Spire Healthcare[5].
During 2008, the firm acquired the London-based Cromwell Hospital flagship hospital to provide healthcare to its members and other private patients including medical tourists from outside the UK. Approval was given for the merger between Bupa's Australian arm (which, prior to the merger, comprised HBA and Mutual Community) and insurance group MBF.[6] The merger created Australia's second largest private health insurance group. On 1 December 2008, Clinovia's name was changed to Bupa Home Healthcare.[7]
The firm has entered the Indian health insurance market through a joint venture with the local conglomerate, Max India, called Max Bupa Health Insurance Limited.[8]
The firm recently sold Bupa Health Assurance to Resolution group PLC, which is now part of Friends Life. [9]
[edit] References
- ^ Bupa Corporate Video (2009)
- ^ "About Bupa - who we are and what we do". http://www.bupa.co.uk/about/html/what_we_do/index.html. Retrieved 2009-02-03.
- ^ Bupa - Our Values)
- ^ Health Dialog sold in $775M deal - Boston Business Journal
- ^ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2007/jun/18/privateequity1
- ^ MBF-Bupa merger gets court go ahead (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
- ^ Bupa Home Healthcare website
- ^ Max India Press Release New Delhi, 11th July, 2008.
- ^ http://www.ftadviser.com/FinancialAdviser/Insurance/HealthcareAndProtection/News/article/20101021/fcd4bb60-d849-11df-a180-00144f2af8e8/Bupa-insurance-operation-snapped-up-by-Resolution.jsp Financial Times
