Sacked workers who lose company private health plans as they pick up their P45s, now have a new way to bypass the NHS - at an affordable price.

A man aged 50 with a wife and one child on a work-based AxaPPP plan pays just £375 tax a year for the benefit. Lose the job, or switch to an employer without a private health plan, and the cost of buying privately soars to £5,016.

HealthFund aims to square that circle. If the ex-employee is in good health, it can reduce private medical premiums by 80%. The secret is applying for a large "excess" - the first slice of claims policyholders have to pay.

"You deposit £1,500, £3,000 or £5,000 in an interest-bearing Bank of Scotland account. And we buy cover above the excess. If you have a medical problem, you can pay for it out of the account and we'll help find a good hospital deal, or, if it's serious, claim on the policy. Or use the NHS," says HealthFund director Andy Dean.

"It's not just for ex-employees. We calculate a 48-year-old couple who stay healthy for the next 15 years will save over £100,000 compared with buying standard private medical cover."

• HealthFund is at healthfund.co.uk or call 0845 077 2827