Today, Friday 8 January 2021, marks the 150th anniversary of Medicash, one of the UK’s leading health cash plan providers.
150 years ago, on Sunday 8 January 1871, the first Hospital Sunday collection was held in Liverpool, collecting £4,685 to support the local voluntary hospitals which were in desperate need of support and funding.
The NHS wasn’t established in the UK until 1948 so the collection was originally founded to provide financial support to the voluntary hospitals of Liverpool. Medicash has always been an innovator when it comes to looking after the health and wellbeing of its members and local community.
In 1929 the Fund purchased 3 ambulances to help convey patients to the voluntary hospitals. Over the next 23 years this fleet would grow to 16 and transport over 365,000 patients to and from the hospitals before being gifted to the NHS.
Medicash has been known by many names over its 150-year history including The Penny in the Pound Fund and Merseyside Health Benefits Council, before changing its name to Medicash as it expanded its regional focus to a national one.
In 2018 Medicash was awarded the Freedom of the City of Liverpool for its longstanding commitment to charitable giving and contribution to healthcare.
Medicash has come a long way from its humble beginnings and now provides health cover to over 300,000 policyholders from across the UK.
As part of its anniversary celebrations Medicash has refreshed its brand image to reflect the wider health and wellbeing remit of its services as it continues to invest in the technology-based features of its products. Medicash was the first cash plan to introduce a full-service claims app, as well as being the first UK based health insurer to introduce a skin cancer screening app.
Medicash is also looking to build on its significant charitable giving from 2020. Over the last five years Medicash has donated over £1.5 million to charity, including over £500,000 last year. A large amount of this funding was to support charities struggling with the impact of Covid-19. In addition to this, Medicash donated £110,000 of vital PPE to the NHS, North West Ambulance Service and local care homes in 2020.
Sue Weir, Chief Executive of Medicash said: “Medicash has been committed to supporting the health and wellbeing of individuals since its foundation in 1871. We are proud to work with organisations from across the UK to support and improve the health of their employees and look forward to doing so for many decades and even centuries to come.
“Marking 150 years in business is no mean feat and I would like to acknowledge the hard work of all the team at Medicash, both current and past, who have made this possible. Our anniversary year will provide a great opportunity for us to reflect and celebrate our past, at the same time as looking forward to driving the next innovations on our journey. Over the course of the year, we will be marking our anniversary with a series of events and initiatives which we look forward to sharing.”