Cover for consultations, tests and scans where you are not admitted to hospital.
Outpatient cover is where policies differ most. It can be unlimited, capped at a money amount for the year, limited to diagnostic tests only, or excluded altogether. Because most private treatment begins with a consultation and a scan, the outpatient limit often decides whether a policy feels useful in practice. Two policies with the same headline price can behave very differently here, so compare this line before you compare premiums.