What's the difference between an EAP, a virtual GP, PMI and a health cash plan?

Lewis Williams, Business Development Manager at HealthHero, explains how EAPs, virtual GPs, PMI and health cash plans differ, and how to choose the right mix for your team.

Four main products dominate conversations about employee health benefits in the UK, and they're often grouped together even though each one is designed to meet a different need. An employee might need confidential counselling, to see a doctor or to have an operation, and no single product covers everything. The best way to choose is to ask yourself which problem you want to solve, as that will point you to the right benefit.

If you’re responsible for buying health benefits for your team, you’ve likely heard questions like these when it’s time to renew: Why do we need a virtual GP if we already have an EAP? Is a cash plan just another kind of health insurance? Would PMI cover everything our people need?

The four benefits at a glance

Employee assistance programme (EAP)
An EAP gives employees confidential counselling and practical help with both personal and work pressures, from mental wellbeing and money worries to family problems, legal questions, and stress at work. People often use it before a problem gets bigger.

Virtual GP
A virtual GP service lets employees book a doctor’s appointment by phone or video, often within a few hours. The GP can give advice, write prescriptions, issue fit notes, and refer people for more care, so there’s no need to wait for a regular in-person NHS GP appointment.

Private medical insurance (PMI)
PMI funds eligible private diagnosis and treatment, from specialist consultations through to surgery and hospital care. It comes into its own when someone needs further tests or specialist treatment. 

Health cash plan
A health cash plan lets employees claim back eligible everyday health costs like dental treatment, eye tests, and physiotherapy, up to set annual limits. It helps make routine care more affordable but does not cover major treatments.

What it means for you: An EAP supports people through problems, a virtual GP treats everyday illnesses, private medical insurance funds private treatment, and a health cash plan refunds routine costs. Four products, four different jobs, which is why most employers end up running more than one.

What problem is each benefit designed to solve?

All four benefits support employee wellbeing, but each helps at a different stage. EAPs and virtual GPs make it easier to get quick support and clinical advice. PMI and cash plans help with the cost of treatment and everyday healthcare. Start by thinking about the problem you want to solve, and then choose the right product.

Reach versus perceived value

EAPs and virtual GP services can usually be offered to everyone at work, giving all employees a clear way to get support and making it easier to include these in wellbeing and absence policies. PMI is often valuable for recruitment and retention, but its cost can limit how many people get it. Cash plans offer useful reimbursements and discounts, but their impact depends on who is eligible, how many people use them, and how well their benefits are communicated.

How to measure whether a benefit is working

Judge each benefit based on the goal you had when you bought it, because usage numbers alone do not tell the whole story. For an EAP or virtual GP, check awareness, how quickly people can access it, repeat use, employee feedback, and trends in absence or productivity. For PMI and cash plans, look at enrolment, claims patterns, employee contributions, recruitment feedback, and retention in key groups. Consider these factors along with cost, eligibility, and reach to see if a benefit is truly valuable or just being used.

Each benefit in more detail

What is an employee assistance programme (EAP)?

An EAP is the front door for life's problems. Good EAPs also give managers somewhere to turn when someone on their team needs help, including a simple route to refer them for support. 

It is also a cost-effective benefit. EAPA UK research shows an average return of £10.85 for every £1 spent, thanks to reduced absence and better productivity. It is usually tax-free for employees and does not require extra admin for you.

An EAP does not diagnose conditions, prescribe medication, or treat physical illness. It helps people through tough times and is separate from medical care. 

EAPs now reach 18.6 million UK employees, more than half the workforce, so coverage is no longer the challenge. Whether employees know it exists and trust it enough to call determines whether they use it.

What it means for you: An employee assistance programme returns an average of £10.85 for every £1 spent, according to EAPA UK, and more than half the UK workforce already has access to one. Usage, rather than coverage, is where EAPs are won or lost.

What is a virtual GP service?

Remote appointments are now common, with about4 in 10 NHS GP appointments in England happening this way. A workplace virtual GP mainly removes the waiting time.

The wait is the expensive part. The gap between "I feel unwell" and "I've seen a doctor" is where absence grows, where a chest infection turns into a fortnight off and where a worrying symptom gets ignored until it can't be. When Canada Life surveyed employees who used a virtual GP through work, 48% said it helped them avoid taking time off and 46% got back to work sooner.

Employees remain registered with their NHS practice. The virtual GP handles diagnosis and everyday treatment, and if ongoing, specialist, or urgent care is needed, they direct people to the right place.

What it means for you: A virtual GP service gives employees a doctor's appointment within hours instead of days or weeks, including prescriptions and fit notes. In one survey of employees using a virtual GP through work, 48% avoided taking time off because of it.

What is private medical insurance (PMI)?

PMI is the most comprehensive employee health benefit, and what it covers depends on the policy. Many policies do not cover pre-existing conditions, but larger employers can sometimes negotiate to include medical history disregarded (MHD) terms, so conditions employees already had are covered too.

Figures from the Private Healthcare Information Network show 953,000 private admissions in 2025, a fourth consecutive record year, with 670,000 of them funded by insurance. These are procedures like joint replacements and heart investigations, the kind that keep someone off work for months.

PMI also requires clear explanation at renewal. Premiums go up with age, claims history, and scheme design. Employer-paid PMI is a taxable benefit, so employees pay tax on its value. It usually does not cover chronic conditions, routine GP care, or everyday costs like dental and optical care.

What it means for you: Private medical insurance covers treatment when something is wrong. Insurance funds seven in ten privately funded hospital admissions in the UK, making PMI the main route into private hospital treatment. 

What is a health cash plan?

A cash plan is the everyday workhorse, and as well as dental, optical, and physiotherapy, many plans also cover chiropody and diagnostic scans. It is designed for regular care, not emergencies.

More than 2 million UK employees were covered by a workplace cash plan in 2025, up 7.7% on the year, making cash plans the fastest-growing workplace health product for the third year running, according to Corporate Adviser's Workplace Protection & Wellbeing Report.

The ceiling is the thing to be clear about. Payouts are capped, so a cash plan will never fund an operation. It reimburses predictable costs and doesn't cover catastrophic ones, making it a companion to PMI rather than a budget version of it.

What it means for you: A health cash plan refunds everyday health costs like dental, optical and physiotherapy up to set annual limits. It's reimbursement rather than insurance, so it complements PMI rather than replacing it.

Questions I often get asked

Is an EAP worth it for employers?

For most employers, an EAP is worth it if people use it. EAPA UK says the average return is £10.85 for every £1 spent, and an EAP covers everyone from the start. The value depends on employees knowing about it and trusting it enough to use it.

Why should I buy a standalone EAP if I already have it embedded in my cash plan or insurance product?

The value of an EAP isn't just having one, it's whether employees actually use it. Standalone EAPs typically deliver significantly higher utilisation than embedded offerings (often 8-12% versus 1-2%), creating better ROI and providing meaningful wellbeing data that can inform smarter people and health strategies.

Which health benefit should a small business buy first?

Most small businesses start with an EAP, since it covers everyone from the beginning, then add a virtual GP to help reduce absences. The best order depends on your team’s age, type of work, and any existing cover.

Do we need PMI if we already have a health cash plan?

They serve different purposes. A cash plan helps with everyday health costs, while PMI pays for specialist diagnosis and treatments like surgery. If you want to cover serious illness or injury, a cash plan alone is not enough.

Are employee health benefits taxable?

It depends on the benefit. EAPs are usually tax-free for employees under HMRC’s welfare counselling exemption. Employer-paid PMI and health cash plans are taxable benefits, so HMRC treats them as extra pay, employees pay tax on their value, and employers must report them. The tax treatment for virtual GP services varies, so check with your adviser.

Can one provider deliver EAP and virtual GP together?

Yes. At HealthHero, our EAP and virtual GP sit together in one app, so employees have one place to go whether they need counselling or a doctor. PMI and cash plans usually come from insurers and can be added alongside these services. 

How EAPs, virtual GPs, PMI and cash plans fit together

These four benefits work in layers, and most employers start with the broadest and move to the most specific. An EAP usually comes first because it covers everyone and mental health is a major cause of long-term absence. A virtual GP is often added next, as quick access to a doctor helps reduce absences and catch problems early. A cash plan adds visible value that employees use often, and PMI is added where budgets allow, often starting with key roles before expanding to others.

No matter which benefits you choose, they only add value if people know how to find and use them. The simpler it is for employees to access benefits, the more likely they are to use what you provide.

That’s why HealthHero’s services are designed to work together. Our EAP supports people during tough times with 24/7 counselling, structured therapy, and help with money, legal, and trauma issues. Our virtual GP is there when someone needs to see a doctor. By offering both in one app, your team gets a single partner. We support over 30 million people across mental health, general practice and specialist clinical services.

Not sure how an EAP or virtual GP fits into your benefits package? We’re always happy to discuss your options and help you find what works best for your team. Get in touch with us.