Health costs Ireland vs. USA

cdragin

I'm in the U.S., so of course paying for private insurance. My husband and I are considering retiring to Ireland; I'm eligible for citizenship through my grandfather. I am 59 and my husband is 60. His insurance is covered through his employer; I'm on his plan but still pay $633/month. Our joint max out-of-pocket is $8000/year, as a cancer survivor I easily max that out every year, so essentially health care costs us $16k/year, not counting dental and vision. The care is excellent but is obviously a huge expense.

How do those costs compare to health insurance in Ireland? VHI only publishes rates on their website for up to age 34. Thanks in advance for any insight you can provide.

Mrs OBumble

Health insurance you would get here does not cover any pre-existing conditions for five years, maybe even longer because you are older.

antoinolachtnai

Read http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/health/health_system/private_health_insurance.html

The cost won't be that bad. It will be about 70 percent more than the under-34 figures you've seen.

Waiting periods are certainly the big issue.

After you have read into the subject a bit you could talk to one of the insurers by phone and get a quote and discuss the situation.

You could also ask your existing insurer for suggestions.

Insurance is recommended but the public system is a big part of healthcare in Ireland too. The two sit side by side. It is hard to explain or understand how this works.

cdragin

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Health insurance you would get here does not cover any pre-existing conditions for five years, maybe even longer because you are older.

Yes, that would definitely be a concern. The US finally got rid of the pre-existing conditions clauses in insurance policies; it's one of the few things that Trump *says* he's going to keep when he tosses out the rest of the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare). Would need to talk to an agent to see if continuous coverage with a US policy would keep that from kicking in. Often those clauses are to prevent someone from signing up for insurance only once they get sick, as opposed to just transferring from one policy to another.

Carawaystick

I think if you are in remission, then you don't have a preexisting condition. You might have had it in the past but not presently.

You'ld probably need to speak to a doctor here to see how its determined by an insurance co.
There's no loading for having had a disease, or being predisposed to a disease. Apart from the waiting periods if they apply.
Also the waiting periods only apply to the pre-existing conditions, so if you needed your insurance for something else that happened after the cover started, you're covered.

www.hia.ie is a govt site that lists all the plans the companies provide.
The companies provide a confusingly large number of plans to bamboozle people. They also ramp up the plan prices each year to get more money from people who don't switch to the new name for the plan at roughly last years prices...

cdragin

Good to know re: costs. That's still quite less than what I pay now.
Just how bad are the waiting periods? I thought one of the advantages of private insurance was that it reduced wait times. In the big health system near me (Duke University medical center), I've had waits of 3 months for a neurologist, and 8 months for an allergist. For the latter, I went outside the system to an allergist in private practice and got in right away. Cancer care, of course, was not delayed at all. Only about a month from diagnosis to surgery.
The impression I'd gotten about the public system is that it means- and age-tested: you have to be either under a certain level of income, or over the age of 70. Is that incorrect?

Thank you so much for your replies and very helpful links!

Stheno

cdragin wrote: »

The impression I'd gotten about the public system is that it means- and age-tested: you have to be either under a certain level of income, or over the age of 70. Is that incorrect?

Thank you so much for your replies and very helpful links!

Everyone has access to the public system you are thinking of medical cards.

To visit a regular doctor costs about 50 euro. If you need hospital care in the public system for something non life threatening you could be waiting up to two years

For the likes of cancer it would be less.

It's unlikely your us policy would be accepted here by insurance so you'd have a five year wait for any existing conditions

Mrs OBumble

Waiting periods are the times at the start of your health insurance when you are not eligible to claim. Typically six months for anything and five years for premises existing conditions.

Waiting lists are the times to see specialists and get operations.

fits

Check if Cigna global would cover you. It's not available to Irish citizens living in Ireland. Multinationals etc would use it.

cdragin

fits wrote: »

Check if Cigna global would cover you. It's not available to Irish citizens living in Ireland. Multinationals etc would use it.

Thanks for the lead, I will check it out!

cdragin

fits wrote: »

Check if Cigna global would cover you. It's not available to Irish citizens living in Ireland. Multinationals etc would use it.

Thanks for the lead, I will check it out!

Mrs OBumble

Carawaystick wrote: »

I think if you are in remission, then you don't have a preexisting condition. You might have had it in the past but not presently.

You'ld probably need to speak to a doctor here to see how its determined by an insurance co.

It's not that simple.

I'm currently in the five year waiting period. When I enquired recently I was told that if you need a procedure (any procedure) during the five year waiting period, then it won't be approved OR declined for cover until the insurance company get the report after the operation. I would doubt that they would see "in remission" as "not pre-existing".

Now, if it was fixing you up after an accident, then I think most people would go ahead with a procedure / claim, assuming that it would be covered. But for other things, you are realistically only able to get something done privately if you can cover the cost if the insurance claim is declined. (And even then, I suspect that the hospital may want you to pay up front.)

Maybe it's different with other companies. But I know that this is how Irish Life (who took over Avaya's health insurance) do it.

tanit

If you have an accident during the 26 week period you are covered. The waiting period doesn't apply to that kind of emergency, I think it's by law but I'm not completely sure