Is Health Insurance Worth The Money ?

pm.

Hi

My dad has just had an op for pancreatic cancer and all has gone well so far (thank god) I got talking to the doctor and he told me that if you have or haven't got health insurance "you get the same treatment anyway"

I have health insurance (essential plus starter) and the policy is up soon,im not sure if its worth it the renewal is 1600 euro for my family. So whats the benefits of having it ?

Kasabian

Yes if you get sick, you avoid the queues is my experience.

FatherLen

not if you dont get sick

u140acro3xs7dm

pm. wrote: »

Hi

My dad has just had an op for pancreatic cancer and all has gone well so far (thank god) I got talking to the doctor and he told me that if you have or haven't got health insurance "you get the same treatment anyway"

I have health insurance (essential plus starter) and the policy is up soon,im not sure if its worth it the renewal is 1600 euro for my family. So whats the benefits of having it ?

That is probably true but if you go private you will get it months earlier.

pm.

Kassidy Low Mouthful wrote: »

That is probably true but if you go private you will get it months earlier.

My dad was waiting 4 weeks

marzic

no VHI = HIV...FACT!:D

TeddyTedson

pm. wrote: »

Hi

My dad has just had an op for pancreatic cancer and all has gone well so far (thank god) I got talking to the doctor and he told me that if you have or haven't got health insurance "you get the same treatment anyway"

I have health insurance (essential plus starter) and the policy is up soon,im not sure if its worth it the renewal is 1600 euro for my family. So whats the benefits of having it ?

I'm not sure about Health Insurance because I don't need it but car Insurance is not worth it anyway. The charge me a fortune and if I ever make a claim I'll end up paying for it in my premium anyway.

Pace2008

TeddyTedson wrote: »

I'm not sure about Health Insurance because I don't need it but car Insurance is not worth it anyway. The charge me a fortune and if I ever make a claim I'll end up paying for it in my premium anyway.

If you end up in a collision or knock someone down, will you have a few hundred thousand Euro lying around to cover the third party's medical bills should they be seriously injured?

mickoneill30

I don't know, so I didn't vote. I don't have health insurance.

My dad & brother don't have health insurance. My brother was referred to a hospital a couple of months ago and got a bed that day. Then was out a few days later once they diagnosed the problem.

My dad has an ongoing condition that isn't life threatening but requires testing and visits a couple of times a year and he doesn't seem to have any problems.

I've never really been bothered about having a private room in a hospital so thats one bit of health insurance I don't care about.

There's always the fear though that if your diagnosed with something serious you'll be waiting for ages to get sorted.

mikemac

Yes

I was getting laser eye surgury and they gave €1000 toward it.
Signed up.
Had the procedure.
Claimed my €1,000 and got my cheque.
Cancelled the policy and got a partial refund, I only had the policy two months

Took out insurance and made money

TeddyTedson

Pace2008 wrote: »

If you end up in a collision or knock someone down, will you have a few hundred thousand Euro lying around to cover the third party's medical bills should they be seriously injured?

Hmm I know, but hmm, I can't really say that will never happen but for the average young driver who never makes a claim they are raping us.

Seaneh

If you can afford it, yes.
If not, no.


As in, if you can spend it and it doesn't affect your standard or life, then hell yeah, you won't have a medical card anyway and it gives you piece of mind, means you can go private if you need medical attention, get a private room, more access to testing, consultants and treatment. All around will make your life easier.

If you make little enough money to get a medical card, just go down that route.

If you're in the middle, you need to think about it. If it is going to mean you can't afford to live comfortably if you do get insurance, I'd forget about it, sure medical bills can be high, but its not like the HSE will lock you up if you can't afford to pay a bill and they will make a way for you to have a payment plan if its ever needed.

CathyMoran

For diagnosis it certainly is of benefit - I am an oesophageal cancer survivor and while it took me 6 weeks to see the particular consultant that I went to see as soon as he saw me I had the tests done within a short period of time.

Fighting Irish

I've health insurance and i was diagnosed with something last year, it has helped me hugely, got to see a consultant within 2 months

smash

pm. wrote: »

Hi

My dad has just had an op for pancreatic cancer and all has gone well so far (thank god) I got talking to the doctor and he told me that if you have or haven't got health insurance "you get the same treatment anyway"

I have health insurance (essential plus starter) and the policy is up soon,im not sure if its worth it the renewal is 1600 euro for my family. So whats the benefits of having it ?

Your dad had cancer, it's a terminal illness so you'll get treated fast if you have insurance or not.

Now if you go out and screw up your knee and have no health insurance you'll be put on a waiting list for an op for around a year or so and sent home with a crutch.

El Horseboxo

I only have health insurance because it's paid for me. I probably wouldn't have bothered otherwise. I recently took out a big life insurance policy though.

ScumLord

Going to your GP first speeds things up, health insurance speeds things up even more. I had to go in for a procedure did it both ways. The first time was on the state and took a year to get the procedure. Second time was with insurance took a month to get seen. once I got inside the doors of the hospital you wouldn't know any difference in treatment it's just the wait to get in the door that's different.

Pace2008

steve06 wrote: »

Your dad had cancer, it's a terminal illness so you'll get treated fast if you have insurance or not.

Hope not! A terminal illness is one in which death is almost inevitable in a relatively short timeframe.

chalkitdown

Just like to point out that most health insurance policies don't guarantee you a private room.

byhookorbycrook

Not fussed on a private room. My meds cost €2,400 each month, covered by VHI.

bobbytables

I have mixed feelings about this also. I see people I know that subscribe to premium health care still having to shell out cash to cover the regular bills.

If I'm paying for premium insurance, I would expect everything to be covered, when I need it. Then again while I write this I acknowledge I'm not saying "when I get a flat tyre on my car, I should stick them for the cost of repairs/replacement/etc", which obviously I don't. So it's only for the more serious "what if" scenarios we rely on private health insurance.

To drive my car I have insurance, because it's legally required. It's not legally required to have private health insurance here, which probably causes us to question "value" a bit more when signing up. Also many healthcare subscribers benefit from private policies via their employer.

Throw in that and /touch wood, I've been lucky to have a pretty damn good immune system and have never needed a hospital bed in my entire life so far.

Dozen Wicked Words

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

Not fussed on a private room. My meds cost €2,400 each month, covered by VHI.

Taking into account your insurance costs, I dont think (but dont know) you would be much better off if you weren't insured. Doesnt the drug payment scheme mean you only pay 120 euro a month for Meds. Dont know what your insurance costs but I presume its around that figure?

Only guessing with all of the above by the way, happy to be corrected.

byhookorbycrook

My meds are not covered under LTI or DPI,have to be done in hospital. My sub is only €700. so well worth it to me.

starlight baby

Different scenario as it's not illness related but I had a baby privately and I would say yes yes yes it's worth the money. Mind you, still cost the guts of 5 grand on top of the health insurance contribution of around 4,000 but for me it was worth every penny.

Eviledna

The way I see it is that Health insurance, if you can afford it, is insurance to avoid the shambolic way the health system and hospitals deal with the kind of illnesses that may not kill you, but will damn sure hurt like hell while you wait on a waiting list.

Was once told for the investigation of a brain issue that I would wait 6 months for an MRI. Health insurance meant I could get it within two weeks. If that illness had been deadly (luckily it wasn't), my odds on the public system were poor.

It's payment to skip the queue.

enfant terrible

CathyMoran wrote: »

For diagnosis it certainly is of benefit - I am an oesophageal cancer survivor and while it took me 6 weeks to see the particular consultant that I went to see as soon as he saw me I had the tests done within a short period of time.

Can i ask which package would be best to cover consultant fee's as most health packages seem not to cover consultant fee's?

Or what would be the best package to cover the most likely needed consultant fee's?

CathyMoran

enfant terrible wrote: »

Can i ask which package would be best to cover consultant fee's as most health packages seem not to cover consultant fee's?

Or what would be the best package to cover the most likely needed consultant fee's?

Sorry, that is a problem that I ran into as well - I have multple medical conditions and end up going less than I should as I can not afford to go.

Greyfox

Your lucky if you get it paid for through your job but if you don't it's definitely not worth it, like a lot of people it's a luxury I can't afford

Stinicker

El Horseboxo wrote: »

I only have health insurance because it's paid for me. I probably wouldn't have bothered otherwise. I recently took out a big life insurance policy though.

I hope your on good terms with the missus!

Canis Lupus

Stinicker wrote: »

I hope your on good terms with the missus!

I hope it wasn't as the missus' behest rather :P

sollar

Eviledna wrote: »

Was once told for the investigation of a brain issue that I would wait 6 months for an MRI. Health insurance meant I could get it within two weeks. If that illness had been deadly (luckily it wasn't), my odds on the public system were poor.

It's payment to skip the queue.

That is it in a nutshell. Unless you have something very obviously serious you will be put on a long waiting list. People die due to this waiting about.

Its piss poor to be honest.

enfant terrible

sollar wrote: »

That is it in a nutshell. Unless you have something very obviously serious you will be put on a long waiting list. People die due to this waiting about.

Its piss poor to be honest.

Yes but looking at most of the cheaper health packages they don't cover scans anyway.

Phill Ewinn

None of the private medical insurers cover penis enhacement.

Tar.Aldarion

it probably is, but ive never paid it before

pm.

enfant terrible wrote: »

Yes but looking at most of the cheaper health packages they don't cover scans anyway.

thats the problem i have essential plus starter and a lot of things are not covered. I think unless you have the premium package its not much use. I have the 2 kids on it but a lot of people think its a waste of money as they get priority treatment anyway.

token56

For me and my family without a doubt.

Personally I've had 3 MRI's done and had an operation, the waiting for all of which was very small. In the case of my operation (back surgery) I was scheduled for the operation just over a week after it was decided by the surgeon to go ahead with it. It was an elective operation but I'm sure had I tried to go the public route it would have taken considerably longer.

byhookorbycrook

On plan B, all MRIs covered too-to do with the condition. I see the consultant every month at treatment-so don't have to pay seperate visits.

enfant terrible

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

On plan B, all MRIs covered too-to do with the condition. I see the consultant every month at treatment-so don't have to pay seperate visits.

How much is plan B?

finnegan2010

So. If you dont have Insurance, and you have for instance say... a chronic skin condition. That requires you to go back every month to the hospital. Must you pay for every visit? Is public treatment actually free for people who DONT have medical cards, but go as public patients?

Redr

A few years ago my son peed dark brown pee. He was rushed into a private hospital and had a battery of tests done straight away - even the radiologist was waiting to x-ray him that night. He remained there for a few days while they tried to diagnose what was wrong with him and then was sent home without a diagnosis. The consultant wasn't happy with this though and kept looking at his notes. I got a call a couple of days later from the consultant (not through a secretary, I'll add) at 8.15 in the morning asking me to bring my son back in.

My son's condition was diagnosed and then he was put on a waiting list (public) for a kidney operation. As his condition was not life threatening he had to wait 6 months for this operation. The main thing for me, though, was the diagnosis. There was no hanging around and our fears were allayed. I then had to do battle with the public system but it was manageable.

We have used the VHI over the years and got value for it - said son also got grommets in each ear (privately and immediately) when he was 9 months old. Without VHI it would taken at least a year and would have affected his hearing at a crucial time. Other stuff too.

If you've a young family, it is essential.

byhookorbycrook

enfant terrible wrote: »

How much is plan B?

Going up to €1,200 so I have switched to a corporate plan for €695

enfant terrible

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

Going up to €1,200 so I have switched to a corporate plan for €695

Is that available to everyone?

pm.

enfant terrible wrote: »

Is that available to everyone?

afaik you just ask and they have to give it to you

byhookorbycrook

enfant terrible wrote: »

Is that available to everyone?

Yes, but you have to ask for it, they are not going to tell you.

u_c_thesecond

pm. wrote: »

Hi

My dad has just had an op for pancreatic cancer and all has gone well so far (thank god) I got talking to the doctor and he told me that if you have or haven't got health insurance "you get the same treatment anyway"

I have health insurance (essential plus starter) and the policy is up soon,im not sure if its worth it the renewal is 1600 euro for my family. So whats the benefits of having it ?

1600?

my sister was quoted 2300 for her, her husband and a 1 year old, (none of them smoke)

who u with???

mohawk

starlight baby wrote: »

Different scenario as it's not illness related but I had a baby privately and I would say yes yes yes it's worth the money. Mind you, still cost the guts of 5 grand on top of the health insurance contribution of around 4,000 but for me it was worth every penny.

I went public and still had a consultant deliver my baby because I needed one and it didn't cost me a cent .

IRLConor

Totally worth it.

From first seeing the GP to my first chemo was under a month. It's pretty tough to get that sort of timeline if you're not at imminent risk of dying (I wasn't).

I've seen friends and relatives go through both systems. The public system can be absolutely brilliant (my girlfriend had particularly excellent care in the public system a few years back) but it can also be quite bad if you're unlucky. What you pay for with health insurance is better odds for getting good treatment sooner rather than later.

Iwannahurl

Interesting that the 50/50 Yes/No divide is similar to the proportion of Insured/Uninsured in the general population.

I have never had health insurance and luckily have never required significant medical treatment. In hindsight, spending money on a health insurance premium for all those years would have been wasted money.

I prefer to stay healthy by prevention, though I've slipped quite a bit in recent years.

Judging by some of the comments in this thread, and what we know of Ireland's rotten two-tier health system, health insurance is little more than a legal bribe paid to the medical profession to accelerate access to treatment that should be available to all citizens on the basis of need rather than ability to pay.

By the way, I hasten to add that the above comments are no slur on ordinary decent citizens who choose to get health insurance. Who could fault them for that, given the way the system is operated?