Leaving private health insurance, Consequences?

dnme

Not sure where to post this? Had a look around boards and ended up here.

Anyone else contemplating leaving their private health insurers? I currently pay VHI 800+ pa for a policy that I have never really used. Been with em for about 12 years. I am now unemployed and getting to the stage where I am finding it hard to justify the money for a policy that I never use.

Has anyone else any thoughts or advice on this? I'd realy welcome a discussion as it may be an issue that is on a lot of peoples minds right now.

therewillbe

In my opinion as a User of Vhi ,I would NOT let it go.Yes you are paying xamount but you just dont know whats around the corner.It is not till you are waiting for a service from the Hse and are told you are on a list and it could take a while ,meantime your condition is getting worse.I needad an Mri and had it done within 46hours.Have you shopped around for another quote as there are some price differences. It is the price of a couple of beers a week.

littlebitdull

I understand exactly where you are coming from. We have a family policy, have it for 9 or 10 years now. And its a lot of money to be paying out every payday. We too have never had cause to use it. I guess the only reason we keep it is fear that as soon as its gone something will happen and we will need it.

I did however phone VHI at renewal time this year - and was able to switch plans - still have us all covered - and saved over two hundred euro.

So maybe consider that.

Also seeing as how you are now unemployed - would you be able to get a medical card?

dnme

littlebitdull wrote: »

Also seeing as how you are now unemployed - would you be able to get a medical card?

Yes I got one which kinda adds to the argument. I feel greedy having both. TBH I use the medical card a lot, I have prevailing conditions which require a GP visit about once a month and prescriptions. The medical card is a godsend here. The bill for VHI is taken out of my Bank 4 times a year and it always leaves me penniless.

Should I keep my VHI at all costs? That is the question. If I were to leave it, there would be a significant waiting period I ever started it again, plus I am now middle aged (getting on etc). It's a real dam dilemma

penexpers

If you leave a health insurer, you have 13 weeks (I think) to sign up for another one, or else you will need to serve any waiting periods if you sign up for health insurance at some point in the future.

tommy21

Is it just you or do you have a family?

We were all under a family policy (and indeed up to age of 25 both me and my sister are still under it as adults though) - if we did not have health insurance over the last 10 years, we would have paid out 10 times more in hospital visits, breaks, detox centres for one troublesome family member :O and more. That's just us though. As one person said, you never know whats coming. HSE services will just be getting worse. I'd hold on or maybe switch to a lower plan.

markjbloggs

Can I ask a related question - if you chose to leave your health insurer and save the €800 per person per year, you may find yourself on a waiting list for treatment later.

However, can you jump this waiting list if you opt to pay for the treatment yourself?

mitresize5

Hey - sorry to hear about your predicament.

My two cents is that I'd live on own brand baked beans if it meant I kept my health insurance.

Hospital waiting lists are a joke in this country and with the coming budget services are going to be reduced even further leading to longer waiting lists again.

If at all possible I'd keep it - you never know whats around the corner health wise

Nuna

markjbloggs wrote: »

Can I ask a related question - if you chose to leave your health insurer and save the €800 per person per year, you may find yourself on a waiting list for treatment later.

However, can you jump this waiting list if you opt to pay for the treatment yourself?

A lot of the hospitals will allow you to pay the Private or Semi-private costs yourself, but we are talking a lot of money here. For SP it's currently 788 per night for the accom, and then there is the consultants fees, blood tests, x-rays etc that can be added on as well. All this adds up.

On a personal level I'd look at changing my policy to a lower plan rather than get rid of it altogether. Shop around. Go on to www.hia.ie and have a look around.

dnme

To answer a few questions from above....

The policy is just for myself, no family. Also I live alone.
The majority here seem to be in favour of keeping at all costs and that is certainly swaying me in that direction.

Jesus, you gotta ask yourself, why are these things so expensive? Why is a SP hospital bed 700+ for a night? Why do we tolerate it?

Fey!

Have you shopped around to see if you can get a similar policy at a lower price?

I switched to Aviva last year, which let me up my cover whilst reducing my premium.

Could be worth looking at to save a few bob.

dudara

Moved to Banking & Insurance & Pensions

dudara

dnme

I have been on to them and moved the plan down to First Plan starter which is their cheapest option for me I think. It still gives me hospital cover - just not private which does not matter to me. As for day today expenses, my med card covers a a lot of those.

So the way I see it, it keeps the insurance alive and gets rid of unnecessary luxuries. One thing that annoys me though is the condition that if I decide to upgrade in the future, there is a 2 year waiting period for pre-existing medical conditions.

NuMarvel

I'm just going to be lazy and copy and paste my response to this thread

NuMarvel wrote: »

The main bottleneck with the public health system at the moment seems to be seeing a consultant specialist and out-patient tests, so for those reasons, I personally keep my health insurance going.

However, like your car and home insurance, you should always shop around. The Health Insurance Authority website has a product comparison tool, so you can see what plans are similar to what you have. There are a vast number of plans out there, so it may take a bit of time, but it can be worth it. The website is www.hia.ie.

Also, each insurer has a range of corporate plans that are available to everyone (despite the names) and may be very similar to what you have, so give your current insurer a call to talk about those. (See this thread for more info.)

Finally, always check if your level of cover is relevant to your needs. If you only use the out-patient protion of your cover a few times, could you switch to a plan that doesn't have this to save money? If you're a PAYE worker you'll get 20% tax relief on medical costs like GPs anyway (unless that changes in the budget). With regard to your hospital cover, that's the type of cover that most people have, and it's the type I'd personally recommend as it gives a broad range of options at a relatively reasonable price. Private hospitals tend to have shorter waiting lists than public hospitals.

Some of the above may not be relevant to you, but hope it helps.

NuMarvel

dnme wrote: »

I have been on to them and moved the plan down to First Plan starter which is their cheapest option for me I think. It still gives me hospital cover - just not private which does not matter to me. As for day today expenses, my med card covers a a lot of those.

So the way I see it, it keeps the insurance alive and gets rid of unnecessary luxuries. One thing that annoys me though is the condition that if I decide to upgrade in the future, there is a 2 year waiting period for pre-existing medical conditions.

You might know this already, but that 2 year upgrade waiting period only applies to the EXTRA cover that your new plan gives. So if your previous plan covers the condition/treatment/hospital, then your new plan should as well.

broker2008

dnme wrote: »

I have been on to them and moved the plan down to First Plan starter which is their cheapest option for me I think. It still gives me hospital cover - just not private which does not matter to me. As for day today expenses, my med card covers a a lot of those.

QUOTE]


I would consider Company Plan Plus Select as a better alternative for an extra 2 euro per annum.

grumpybore

Hi....thinking of jacking in my private health care when it comes up for renewal later in the year. I am mid 40s ,wife the same, 14 yo son and another about to turn 18. I am working ( just about) and am not in arrears ,so this is not a back-to-the-wall situation ....its justwhen I think about it ,what are we getting for our money? . I pay to go the dentist ,I pay for my man-mot (ouch) .....i pay for everything. My mother passed away just before Christmas , and despite being on a tip top private plan, ended up in a public ward - and to be honest ,it wasnt so bad ( as these places go)....whats the view on saving the money in a rainy-day account ,and using it for provate screening ,and paying to see a specialaits shoud the need arise. I work out that I have spent about €20 k on health insurance so far ....for nothing .....

Comments /advice please ?

FGR

Essential Starter for 38 euros per month with Quinn?

uck51js9zml2yt

we have a medical card as I'm out of work but kept our health insurance. my wife needs an mri and it would be 6 months minimum public. got it in a week and the insurance covered it in full
it would have cost 200euro

cookie1977

I find it a little depressing that there are 5000 people a month giving up their private health insurance because they cant afford it but who also do not qualify for medical cards
http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/0228/health.html