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ideal combination?

donfers · 2014-01-07 20:05:25

My dad was seen for a throat problem last year - we don't think it is anything serious and perhaps the medical service is of the same opinion as it has been over a year now since he saw his GP about the issue and she wrote a letter off for him to see a consultant. It sill bugs him from time to time though - in the last…

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07-01-2014 9:05pm

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donfers

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My dad was seen for a throat problem last year - we don't think it is anything serious and perhaps the medical service is of the same opinion as it has been over a year now since he saw his GP about the issue and she wrote a letter off for him to see a consultant. It sill bugs him from time to time though - in the last year all he has received is a letter a couple of months asking him if he still wanted to keep the appointment. He phoned them and indicated that he did and now another long wait. And maybe after that long wait all he will get is a sit-down chat with a consultant who will decide if an endoscopy or barium swallow test or other diagnostic test is necessary, which, no doubt will lead to another long wait.

Anyway I am getting fed up of waiting, even though the likelihood is that this is nothing serious, I no longer want to take chances.

Now we could of course just pay a large amount to see a consultant and have the tests done privately but is it a good idea for the forseeable future to get him outpatient health insurance while he has the medical card. This may not cover him for the throat issue but it may well prevent waits like this occurring in the future if other health issues arise.

Outpatient only health insurance is significantly cheaper than regular health insurance and would speed up the whole process of seeing the consultant and getting tests done - is that correct?

On top of that he has the medical card for other medical issues like gp visits, prescriptions and hospital stays (if necessary).

So would you guys agree that the ideal combination for medical card holders who want to get tests done quicker is to get outpatient only health insurance on top of their medical card. Cost of this insurance is about €200 - €300 per year.

Is this the solution or am I missing something?

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