When is Essential enough, and when do Advanced, Elite or Ultimate earn the extra cost?

You're 38, or 52, or your father had heart trouble in his sixties, and you're looking at four Health MOT prices that run from £495 to £3,350. It's tempting to read them as a ladder and assume the top rung is the safest place to stand.

The tiers work differently. Essential, Advanced, Elite and Ultimate each answer a different kind of question, and your age and risk decide which question is worth paying for. Pick the tier that holds your question and you've picked the right one, whatever it costs.

If you'd rather skip the reading, the package quiz asks a few practical questions, family history included, and points you to a tier. Or compare all four side by side on the Health MOTs page and book from there.

Essential: is a baseline what you need?

The Essential Health MOT is £495, takes about 45 minutes and runs Monday to Friday. It answers one clear question: are your examination and core bloods in a range a doctor is happy with?

The bloods are metabolic: full blood count, kidney and liver function, lipids, glucose and HbA1c, thyroid as FT4 and TSH, iron, inflammation and bone chemistry. The doctor reads them alongside an ECG, body composition and a physical examination. That combination already covers much of what a family history of heart disease, diabetes or high cholesterol calls for.

Essential suits you if you're under 40 and want a doctor-led baseline, or over 40 and want a basic screen without a chest X-ray, a hormone panel or a scanner. If your real question is hormones, bone density, consultant ultrasound, tumour markers or MRI, start on the tier that holds it. Paying £495 and then wishing you'd had pictures costs more in the end.

Advanced: when do lungs, hormones and a year of GP cover earn £999?

The Advanced Health MOT is £999. Allow 1 to 1.5 hours, and fast for a minimum of four hours beforehand. It adds a hormone profile, lung function, a chest X-ray, a DEXA bone scan when clinically indicated, and four GP appointments over 12 months, shareable with immediate family.

It earns its keep when midlife, a less healthy decade, or a breathing or hormone question is the reason you came. DEXA is done when the assessment shows it's needed, so it's a clinical decision each time. The four GP appointments can be used for any health issue, beyond screening follow-up, and you can share them with immediate family. Think of them as access to a doctor; they aren't private medical insurance. If your question at 45 is still the baseline, Essential still answers it.

Elite: when do consultant ultrasound and markers earn the specialist day?

The Elite Health MOT adds consultant ultrasound and sex-specific markers, which look at things bloods, a chest X-ray and hormones can't see. Allow 2.5 to 3 hours and fast for a minimum of four hours.

Men currently pay £1,850 and can book Monday to Friday. Men add abdominal, pelvic and testicular ultrasound, and PSA for men over 40. Women currently pay £2,095, because the female package includes a gynaecologist consultation, trans-vaginal and pelvic ultrasound, a cervical smear, a mammogram from 40, and CA-125. Women's Elite runs on Thursday and Friday specialist days. Both reports include CEA alongside the relevant sex-specific marker.

Elite is worth it when a named organ question, a relevant family history, or a well-woman or well-man check needs pictures of the pelvis, abdomen, testes or breasts. The markers are extra information for your doctor, never a cancer all-clear. NICE suspected-cancer guidance uses PSA and CA125 to assess people who have symptoms.

A private mammogram and smear sit alongside the NHS Breast Screening Programme and the NHS Cervical Screening Programme, so keep the invitations you already receive. The imaging on Elite is the ultrasound, plus the chest X-ray and DEXA when indicated. Full-body MRI belongs to Ultimate.

Ultimate: when does the 3T MRI earn the top fee?

The Ultimate Health MOT adds 3T MRI of the brain, intracranial and carotid MRA, whole spine and torso, with the full MOT workup still in the room. Men, and women without gynaecology, currently pay £2,950. Women with gynaecology currently pay £3,350. Allow 3 to 4 hours, including 60 to 90 minutes in the scanner, and fast for a minimum of four hours. The MRI protocol replaces DEXA and the chest X-ray.

It's the right tier when wide structural imaging is the investigation you want. Expect it to turn up incidental findings: cysts, disc changes and small lesions that then need explaining. MRI shows structure. It can't measure lipids, glucose, thyroid or blood pressure, which is why Ultimate keeps the examination and the bloods.

A clear scan is reassurance rather than a guarantee. A finding becomes a diagnosis only when a doctor who has examined you decides what, if anything, should happen next. Book Ultimate because you want the scan. If turning 50 or a relative's illness is what brought you here, talk the tiers through with us first.

How age and risk change the choice

Under 40, Essential is usually enough if you feel well. Advanced earns its place in that age band when lifestyle, hormones or lungs are the question, and Elite when sex-specific ultrasound would change the plan.

Over 40, Advanced is a common upgrade because hormones, a chest X-ray and DEXA when indicated start to match the decade. Elite is a common upgrade when gynaecology, a mammogram from 40 or men's pelvic imaging is the missing piece. Neither is compulsory at 40.

Your NHS invitations carry on alongside any of these, where you're eligible. That means the NHS Health Check (England, 40 to 74), cervical screening (25 to 64), breast screening (50 to 70) and bowel screening (50 to 74).

Family history changes the question rather than the default tier, as our article on family history and package choice sets out. A family tree with heart disease often still fits Essential or Advanced. A named cancer often fits Elite or an organ package.

The UK National Screening Committee asks whether a test will do more good than harm. Looking complete is beside the point. Extra markers add flags, and extra MRI sequences add more incidental findings. Pay for the extra question when it's one you'll act on.

Getting the most from your visit

Bring previous bloods and letters, so the doctor can see what's new. Fast only when your tier requires it: Essential needs no fasting, and Advanced, Elite and Ultimate need a minimum of four hours. Keep taking regular medicines unless you've been told otherwise, and ask who will review any abnormal finding with you. A flag on a printout becomes a plan once a doctor who has examined you takes it on.

A Health MOT is built for people who feel well and want to be screened. If you have new, severe or worsening symptoms, see your GP first, and call 999 or go to A&E in an emergency.

When you're ready, compare the four tiers on the Health MOTs page, where the current inclusions are kept up to date, or call 020 7183 7056. For the age question in more depth, read Health MOT under 40 versus over 40. Once you've chosen, our guide on how often to repeat an MOT covers when to come back.

Frequently asked questions

When is Essential enough?

When you want a doctor-led baseline without imaging, hormones or markers. It's £495, takes 45 minutes, and it's a complete visit for that job, whether you're under 40 or want a basic screen over 40.

When does Advanced earn £999?

When you also want hormones, lung function, a chest X-ray, DEXA when clinically indicated and four GP appointments over 12 months, shareable with immediate family, and specialist ultrasound isn't yet the question.

When does Elite earn the extra cost?

When consultant ultrasound and sex-specific markers would answer something bloods and an X-ray can't. Men pay £1,850 and women pay £2,095. The markers are extra information for your doctor, never a cancer all-clear, and the imaging is ultrasound; full-body MRI is on Ultimate.

When does Ultimate earn £2,950 or £3,350?

When you specifically want 3T MRI of the brain, MRA, whole spine and torso alongside the MOT workup. Choose it for that scan, whatever your age or family history.

Are more tests automatically better?

More tests bring more flags and more incidental findings to explain. The best tier is the one that holds the question you'll act on.

Is a laboratory flag a diagnosis?

A flag means a result sits outside a reference range, which is a statistical interval. A doctor who has examined you decides whether anything needs to happen.

Sources

• UK National Screening Committee. Principles of screening
• NICE. Suspected cancer: recognition and referral (NG12)
• NHS. NHS Health Check
• NHS. MRI scan
• NHS. PSA test
• NHS. Breast screening (mammogram)
• Health Screening Clinic. Health MOTs
• Health Screening Clinic. Essential Health MOT
• Health Screening Clinic. Advanced Health MOT
• Health Screening Clinic. Elite Health MOT
• Health Screening Clinic. Ultimate Health MOT
• General Medical Council. Medical register, Mohammad Bakhtiar, 4694470

Written By

Stephen Lingam

Managing Director

Managing Director of Medical Express Clinic and the Health Screening Clinic since 1984. Over 40 years of operational experience in private healthcare on Harley Street, overseeing patient care, clinical standards, and service delivery.

Medically Reviewed

Dr Mohammad Bakhtiar

MD, PhD, LRCP, MSc, DHMSA

Clinical Lead

GMC: 4694470

Leading our clinical team with a focus on comprehensive men's health and preventative oncology protocols.

Last reviewed: 25/09/2026