Health Insurance - why bother

missjm

I can't find a seperate thread for Health Insurance. But I'll post here.
Feel free to move it.

I'm paying just under 50 euro a month for myself in Health Insurance in Ireland. I hoped it would cover me to a certain extent. Recently I was told I had to have a procedure done which would be better done in a private hospital. When I looked into it, I was only going to be covered 60% in that hospital, still costing me 570 euro!

I rang my GP back and said I had to go Public. I also asked my Insurance company, who claimed I was covered 100% public, what the difference was being covered or being a public patient and was told I might be seen a little bit quicker?!

I'm well annoyed that I pay this every month and have paid even higher over the years and have gotten NOTHING in return. Are there really any benefits??

coylemj

Ask your insurer if there are any private hospitals where your policy will cover 100%

The principal reason for private medical insurance is that you get to choose your consultant, you always see him or her by private appointment (i.e. no waiting in a giant queue where everyone is told to show up at the same time like in court) and you are typically treated in a private hospital or a private wing of a public hospital, where there are no long queues for beds.

The selection of hospital is often driven by the consultant you meet as he/she usually practices in a select number of clinics and in some cases, only one so the problem you highlight can and does arise. You don't seem to be paying much by the way - €600 p.a. or less as you are paying doesn't really buy you much with the cost of medical treatment these days so I'm not really surprised that you don't have full cover.

The last point you make ('I pay this every month .... and have gotten nothing in return') is surely twisted logic in one sense - do you have the same view of fire insurance?

mickman

coylemj wrote: »

Ask your insurer if there are any private hospitals where your policy will cover 100%

The principal reason for private medical insurance is that you get to choose your consultant, you always see him or her by private appointment (i.e. no waiting in a giant queue where everyone is told to show up at the same time like in court) and you are typically treated in a private hospital or a private wing of a public hospital, where there are no long queues for beds.

The selection of hospital is often driven by the consultant you meet as he/she usually practices in a select number of clinics and in some cases, only one so the problem you highlight can and does arise. You don't seem to be paying much by the way - €600 p.a. or less as you are paying doesn't really buy you much with the cost of medical treatment these days so I'm not really surprised that you don't have full cover.

The last point you make ('I pay this every month .... and have gotten nothing in return') is surely twisted logic in one sense - do you have the same view of fire insurance?

In private hospitals there are also long waiting queues and its sometimes not even possible to get a private room

Paulownia

It is a mystery to me that if you have health insurance and you go to hospital you end up in a public ward, see the consultant or one of their team in a public clinic and your insurer is billed with thousands whereas if you don't have insurance you have exactly the same treatment.
I have actually had experience of a consultant I never actually met as I was seen by his reg sending a bill for his services