Health insurance?

purplecow1977

I'm beginning to think that I'm the only one in my group of friends and colleagues without health insurance. I'm thinking of getting some and checked out the health insurance comparison site.

What's the difference between going for plans that cover 'all public hospitals' and others that are semi private? As in, is waiting time less (in the event I was sick etc) even with the 'all public' option?

I rarely visit the doctor but I am overweight.

Are there specific things I should be looking for in a health insurance policy? It's very confusing!

okiss

Hi Purplecow1977,

I know the hia.ie website has a lot of information but you may not understand all of the things they mention.

Some of the health insurance policies now only cover you for going to a public hospital ie the nearest public hospital to where you live.

In a public hospital you could be a few months waiting to see a consultant and after this you will be put on a waiting list for an operation - you could be in pain for a least 12 months before an operation happens.

If you have a day case or stay a night in a public hospital you will pay a charge of €80 - up to a max of €800 for 10 nights over a year. If you end up staying in a public hospital for more than 10 nights - this charged is capped at €800.


In Ireland you also have private hospitals ie the hermitage, st vincents private or your nearest private hospital. Along with this you have the high tech hospitals ie Blackrock Clinic, the mater private, the galway clinic - these hospitals would be known for cancer treatment or for doing heart operations.

In regards to health insurance I would look for a policy that would cover a min of semi private room in a private hospital. This will give you the option of going public or private if you have any health issues. Also if you have some concerns you can see a consultant on a private basis - normally you will have an appointment quicker than in the public service. To see a consultant private could cost you €150 to €300. Some health insurance policies have a €1 excess for day to day medical expenses ie going to a doctor, consultant ect and they will pay x amount towards the cost of your visit to a doctors or consultants.

You can also claim back 20% of these costs by filling up a revenue med one form.

For the high tech hospitals I would look at polices that would cover you for day cases, heart or cancer treatment here only. These hospitals are very expensive to stay in and would only be fully covered on the top of the range health insurance policies costing €3000 a year plus.

In regards to health insurance I would look at policies that have an excess - this is where you agree to pay say €200 of the cost of your claim as this will make your cover cheaper. Don't go for a policy that will pay a percentage of the cost of a room per night as you could have a large bill after leaving hospital.

Some of the cheaper policies dont have the same hosptial cover so just check to see that your local private hospital is covered under the policy. Their is no point being covered only in a few dublin hospitals if you live in Cork.

Have a look at the hia.ie website. Click into go compare. Click then into I do not know what plans I would like to compare. Under this click on a semi private room in a private hospital and then click serch for my plans.
This will open a screen where you can put in how much you want to spend ect.

You can then compare up to 3 plans at a time. Say you looked at Laya Advantge 500 Explore for €700.68 and Laya Flex 500 Explore for €757.10. Click on In Patient you will see the cheper policy only covers pays the semi private rate on a private bed in a public hospital, where the flex explore pays the full amount.
You can also see the cheper policy only covers some private hospitals.
A day case is covered in the mater private with a €150 excess on the flex expore but their is no cover for the same day case on the advantage 500 explore.

Do this with a few policies and you can get a better idea of what suit your own needs. A man would not need great maternity cover but if you have a long term health condition or do a lot of sports having day to day cover with a €1 excess could be of beneifit to you.

Also if you take out health insurance and you need to have tests or any type of scans I would contact the insurance company so they can tell you what is covered under your policy. If you are told you need an operation ask for the operation number ie with Laya. If you ring laya with this number and give them your consultants name and the hospital they can confirm your covered or offer you suggestions if your not covered in that hospital.

If you have any more questions just post them here and I will do my best to answer them.

purplecow1977

okiss,

Thank you so much for your detailed reply.

I had selected some plans to compare, around the €500 a year mark.

So from what I can gauge, there isn't any real benefit in opting for the public only package?
If I needed an appointment, wouldn't I get one anyway without any health insurance?

I will certainly look at semi private.

There are so many elements to it it's hard to know. I don't know what I'd need really. I will play around with it a bit more and compare various policies.

Thanks again for your help, I would ring up and ask for similar explanations but I can't think properly and get muddled so I prefer to have things written down and thought about in advance

3 things:
1. What does convalescence mean?
2. For some it specifies hospitals covered and other times it just says 'covered' - how do I find out where it specifies which is covered/not covered?
3. Is travel insurance necessary if you have these plans? (overseas)

antoinolachtnai

1. Convalescence means a period in a nursing home after A major operation.

2. If it says covered, it is probably a good sign but check the specifics on the insurers' website.

3. Yes you still need travel insurance. There is coverage abroad on theee policies but it is no substitute. Some of the insurers will do you a good deal on travel insurance.

I would heed the other poster's excellent advice. You really need cover for a semi private room in private hospitals. What makes private health insurance worthwhile is that it gives you access to these facilities.