The Health Lottery raises 8 million pounds for charity, but is still behind financial target

New programme The Health Lottery is struggling to meet its financial targets after being hit by the stagnant UK economy, but has still managed to raise an impressive £8m for charity.

The Health Lottery, launched by Richard Desmond in October 2011, intends to raise £50m for charitable health causes by the end of its first year, despite being on track to make only £32m after raising just £8m in its first quarter.

The Health Lottery donates around 20p to charity for every ticket sold

Martin Hall, chief executive of The Health Lottery, said: "We don't believe that this will impact our ability to deliver the £50m.

"What it does change is how we do it. We will need to do different things than we had envisaged two or three years ago to encourage additional game play.”

Of every £1 ticket sold for The Health Lottery, 20.34p is donated to charitable causes, such as respite care for young carers, and funding specialist nurses for sufferers of Alzheimer’s disease.

This is around 8p less than the National Lottery donates to charity for every ticket sold.

Whilst The Health Lottery only costs a pound to play, millions of Brits are paying substantially more in taxes to take part in the NHS postcode lottery.

The NHS costs £30k earners around £1,350 a year in tax. This £1,350 ‘ticket’ guarantees healthcare in the UK. However, the NHS postcode lottery dictates the quality and speed of this free service.

There is a huge variation in NHS hospitals across the UK, and many are far below the Government recommended standard. Recent news showed how the postcode lottery affects the availability of lifesaving cancer drugs like Avastin.

Buying a health insurance policy is a guaranteed way of ending your own health lottery. Private medical insurance will ensure prompt care at a private hospital of your choice, in a room with fantastic facilities. It could also cover the cost of drugs too expensive for use on the NHS.

Compare health insurance now to avoid the NHS postcode lottery and gain peace of mind about your future health.