Should I get health insurance now that I'm pregnant?

smallbrowncat

Hi all

Once again I'm tossing up in my mind whether it's worth getting it. Neither my husband or I are Irish (we are both from New Zealand). I am pregnant with our first and due in a couple of months (going public using Rotunda Domino scheme, has been top-notch so far). We don't have private health insurance.

We can easily afford health insurance, but it has always seemed a bit pointless given the astronomical cost and the lack of coverage you actually get with a basic policy (and I am unimpressed that basic plans do not grant access to high-tech hospitals - what's the point of having the damn insurance if you can't get that?). Choosing policies is very confusing. We are both very healthy - we can go 2-3 years without seeing a doctor (except for my female-related health stuff eg smears, contraception). We can afford day patient procedures in a private hospital ourselves - eg knee surgery (my husband's had 3 of these, not in Ireland).

If we got seriously ill (eg cancer) we would always fly back to NZ for treatment under the public system there (provided of course we were well enough to travel!). This seems to match what other foreigners we know (eg Polish people) do - they do not rely on the Irish health system or private insurance, they fly home and get treated in their home country's better public system.

We do not intend to live in Ireland long-term. We may be here for another 2 years or so (we might leave as soon as late 2013) - but I would be VERY surprised if we were here up to another 4/5 years. Certainly no longer than that.

Therefore: given the waiting times (26 weeks) for treatment under a new policy, the fact that we are quite healthy people anyway (and we presume our baby will be too), we can afford to pay to see consultants ourselves, and we have access to a better public health system (subject to long-haul travel) - should we get health insurance? If it were just my husband and I, I would say no, but I wonder if is a prudent decision given that we will soon have a baby.

It seems to me that there is no such thing as private healthcare really for children in Ireland, but a recent experience has confused me. Our friends recently had a baby and he had a serious heart condition - which has now been totally fixed by surgery (but he would be dead by now if he hadn't had the surgery). They were saying how grateful they were for health insurance because they got the bill (promptly sent on to VHI) for his stay at Crumlin which was €15000+. I was confused though because I thought there wasn't really private cover for kids in Ireland - as far as I can tell this bill is just because Crumlin CAN charge because his parents have health insurance and he is a private patient, NOT because he was actually treated as private patient or got seen any faster/got any different treatment(if you see what I mean). Certainly I know there is no such thing as a semi-private or private kid's bed in Crumlin! In terms of getting to see the consultant in the first place - they had to pay a few hundred anyway (the same amount someone without health insurance would've had to pay to see a consultant ASAP) and his condition was (life-threateningly) urgent so he would've been operated on immediately anyway as far as I can tell (with health insurance or otherwise)... Can anyone clarify this confusing situation for me?!

Actor

You need to be a member for five years to receive full benefits. You can't just start paying health insurance when you need attention.

smallbrowncat

Actor wrote: »

You need to be a member for five years to receive full benefits. You can't just start paying health insurance when you need attention.

Really? If that's the case it would definitely mean we wouldn't get it!

All three of the insurers seem to say 26 weeks before you can claim for new conditions, and 52 weeks for maternity. Obviously my husband's knee is a pre-existing condition so that could have a longer stand-down period.

Actor

smallbrowncat wrote: »

Really? If that's the case it would definitely mean we wouldn't get it!

All three of the insurers seem to say 26 weeks before you can claim for new conditions, and 52 weeks for maternity. Obviously my husband's knee is a pre-existing condition so that could have a longer stand-down period.

I'm not a health insurance expert, but my dad says that with VHI you need five years to be fully covered. I'd talk to an advisor to get the full low-down on your health insurance options.

coylemj

Actor wrote: »

I'm not a health insurance expert, but my dad says that with VHI you need five years to be fully covered.

Actor wrote: »

I'd talk to an advisor to get the full low-down on your health insurance options.

Clearly neither of you is an expert, haven't you heard of the HIA????

OP, the Health Insurance Authority exists to advise the public on options for health insurance. Here is their webpage on waiting periods....

http://www.hia.ie/consumer-information/waiting-periods/new-customer-waiting-periods/

smallbrowncat

coylemj wrote: »

OP, the Health Insurance Authority exists to advise the public on options for health insurance. Here is their webpage on waiting periods....

http://www.hia.ie/consumer-information/waiting-periods/new-customer-waiting-periods/

Thanks! I am very well-versed with the HIA website, it's great. It makes the confusing health insurance market in Ireland marginally more understandable!

Any thoughts on whether health insurance in my situation is a good investment? Anyone who got it for the first time/didn't bother when they had kids, or anyone else who's a foreigner?

coylemj

smallbrowncat wrote: »

Any thoughts on whether health insurance in my situation is a good investment? Anyone who got it for the first time/didn't bother when they had kids, or anyone else who's a foreigner?

You appear to have weighed up the options pretty well, including the possibility of falling back on the safety net of a superior public health service in your home country, an option most of us don't have.

Most people in Ireland pay for private health insurance in order to bypass public health waiting lists i.e. to get faster access to specialised care, and to ensure that we can always see the same specialist when undergoing long term care for something like cancer. It makes no difference in the case of emergency treatment e.g. appendix or injury as you have no option but to go into A&E which means the public health service.

To be honest I'm not sure how to advise you so I'm not going to recommend you go in or stay out except I'd ask you to bear one thing in mind: when you have the baby, you won't be as mobile as a couple with no children so the option to hop on a plane and go to NZ for treatment may not be as easy to invoke once the little bundle of joy arrives, just bear that in mind.

broker2008

smallbrowncat wrote: »

Hi all

Once again I'm tossing up in my mind whether it's worth getting it. Neither my husband or I are Irish (we are both from New Zealand). I am pregnant with our first and due in a couple of months (going public using Rotunda Domino scheme, has been top-notch so far). We don't have private health insurance.

We can easily afford health insurance, but it has always seemed a bit pointless given the astronomical cost and the lack of coverage you actually get with a basic policy (and I am unimpressed that basic plans do not grant access to high-tech hospitals - what's the point of having the damn insurance if you can't get that?). Choosing policies is very confusing. We are both very healthy - we can go 2-3 years without seeing a doctor (except for my female-related health stuff eg smears, contraception). We can afford day patient procedures in a private hospital ourselves - eg knee surgery (my husband's had 3 of these, not in Ireland).

If we got seriously ill (eg cancer) we would always fly back to NZ for treatment under the public system there (provided of course we were well enough to travel!). This seems to match what other foreigners we know (eg Polish people) do - they do not rely on the Irish health system or private insurance, they fly home and get treated in their home country's better public system.

We do not intend to live in Ireland long-term. We may be here for another 2 years or so (we might leave as soon as late 2013) - but I would be VERY surprised if we were here up to another 4/5 years. Certainly no longer than that.

Therefore: given the waiting times (26 weeks) for treatment under a new policy, the fact that we are quite healthy people anyway (and we presume our baby will be too), we can afford to pay to see consultants ourselves, and we have access to a better public health system (subject to long-haul travel) - should we get health insurance? If it were just my husband and I, I would say no, but I wonder if is a prudent decision given that we will soon have a baby.

It seems to me that there is no such thing as private healthcare really for children in Ireland, but a recent experience has confused me. Our friends recently had a baby and he had a serious heart condition - which has now been totally fixed by surgery (but he would be dead by now if he hadn't had the surgery). They were saying how grateful they were for health insurance because they got the bill (promptly sent on to VHI) for his stay at Crumlin which was €15000+. I was confused though because I thought there wasn't really private cover for kids in Ireland - as far as I can tell this bill is just because Crumlin CAN charge because his parents have health insurance and he is a private patient, NOT because he was actually treated as private patient or got seen any faster/got any different treatment(if you see what I mean). Certainly I know there is no such thing as a semi-private or private kid's bed in Crumlin! In terms of getting to see the consultant in the first place - they had to pay a few hundred anyway (the same amount someone without health insurance would've had to pay to see a consultant ASAP) and his condition was (life-threateningly) urgent so he would've been operated on immediately anyway as far as I can tell (with health insurance or otherwise)... Can anyone clarify this confusing situation for me?!

You almost have everything right. Private health insurance will be no good for maternity now as the waiting period is 1 year. It would be 5 years for your husbands pre existing condition for knee. 6 Months for a new condition eg the other perfect knee. If you add a newborn to adult policy there will be no waiting periods as long as it is done within 13 weeks. There are private and high tech hospitals that offer elective surgeries for children approx 4 so this is where discrepancies arise.