Aviva Healthcare = Be Warned

PLambourne

Hi All - I have an healthcare policy with Aviva (Level 2 - Hospitals) for my my family. My wife required disc surgery 18 months ago which was not succesful and she now needs a redo discectomy. 2 major Problems have arisen
1. Aviva Reduced payments to ALL neurosurgeons (In Sept I believe) - so even though we were covered fully for first op - there is a shortfall of in excess of €1,600 in consultants fees for redo - So when renewing your policy consider this. If anyone needs a Neurosurgeon with Aviva there WILL be a substantial shortfall. If you ring them they will not tell you over phone (but wont deny it either) - please learn from my experience.
2. They also say op is not covered unless it is in conjunction with a more serious op which consultant is adamant she does not need.

So if you are with or considering being with AVIVA healthcare please check this out, because if you werent sick when you joined them, you will be when you make a claim.

The_Conductor

Its similar with other healthcare providors- there are pros and cons associated with any policy. When we were renewing this January, we looked through the clauses on over 20 different policies- before settling on one with a combination of excesses and coverage that we were satisfied with. While I sympathise with your predicament, and your unexpected medical bill- you need to know the ins and outs of your insurance coverage, and not just assume that you're covered for any particular procedure or hospital.

neemish

I discovered a similar problem with VHI when helping my mother to renew her policy recently. An ortho op which was fully covered in 2011 - and which VHI paid for for Mom - now only has 80% coverage. Very frustrating!