Health Insurance

billyhead

With the current hospital trolley crisis in the news and the waiting periods to see consultants i was curious to see if you have health insurance. It that time of the year for renewals and new policy's been open. So do you have it, have you ever used it and for those that have it did you ever contemplate giving it up?

Gael23

It’s the next thing after rent and food for me. Might not have a Rolls Royce policy but it’s one thing I will never give up. Despite what people say there is a difference with how you are treated if you don’t have it, not to mention waiting times

Aadamar

billyhead wrote: »

With the current hospital trolley crisis in the news and the waiting periods to see consultants i was curious to see if you have health insurance. It that time of the year for renewals and new policy's been open. So do you have it, have you ever used it and for those that have it did you ever contemplate giving it up?

We would never be without it
I only realized recently though that the children do not have to be with the same insurance provider as the parents. Our kids are with VHI as they offer half price for children and my husband and I are with Laya.

Foweva Awone

I use mine a LOT for psychiatric care. It's absolutely well worth it for that if nothing else. Mental illness can affect you at any stage of your life, and trust me - having had numerous in-patient experiences of both the public and the private system, there is no comparison. If you're having an acute crisis, you're unlikely to have the time or the motivation to wait around for a public bed.

I'm currently an in-patient in a private psychiatric hospital, I think it costs around €500 a night. I had a crisis and was admitted almost immediately, and am receiving top standard care from an expert team who know me very well. I think this admission will end up lasting around a month, so you're talking 15 grand - even if I don't end up using/needing my health insurance again for anything this year, it'll have paid for itself several times over. (I've had many similar or longer stints over the past couple of years. VHI probably hate me! )

somesoldiers

Yes family health insurance is part of my package in work along with a free rail or bus pass to the value of 2k, all the soft drinks & cereals you can consume & beer ( though recently they have started locking the beer fridges til 5pm)

Specialun

my company pays mine but i do use it. more so for the usual stuff such as gp and medicine but its something i will always look to have

somesoldiers

Specialun wrote: »

my company pays mine but i do use it. more so for the usual stuff such as gp and medicine but its something i will always look to have

What package can you get medicines on?

eviltwin

Always had it with work. Never used it. I'm 40 and apart from having my children I had never needed any medical care, haven't had to go to a GP since I was a child. Paying for it myself would have been a huge waste of money.

KERSPLAT!

I've a decent plan through work. Have only used it to claim back doctor appointments but good to know it's there if I do need it.

Specialun

somesoldiers wrote: »

What package can you get medicines on?

mine 100% does anyways as i claimed 2 weeks ago when i had chest infection. think we use irish life. dunno which policy but its easily 150-200 a month

Gael23

eviltwin wrote: »

Always had it with work. Never used it. I'm 40 and apart from having my children I had never needed any medical care, haven't had to go to a GP since I was a child. Paying for it myself would have been a huge waste of money.

It’s a waste of money until the day you need it. I got quite sick almost exactly 4 years ago. Was sent for some scans and advised the wait was 3 months on the medical card. Had it done in 2 weeks in a private hospital and VHI paid half the cost.
If that was someone with cancer for instance, it may have been too late after 3 months.

pickarooney

eviltwin wrote: »

Always had it with work. Never used it. I'm 40 and apart from having my children I had never needed any medical care, haven't had to go to a GP since I was a child. Paying for it myself would have been a huge waste of money.

That's an extraordinary run of good health. More power to you!

somesoldiers

I had to get stents in 12 years ago aged 30 and was on a company plan so paid nothing.€25k the bill was for a week in the mater private.
Of course their first response was "we are not paying" was a nice letter to get 2 weeks after my procedure.

Eventually they caved in when put under pressure by my company.

Of course I was never able to get life cover since but that's another days work.i have death in service in work which is more than adequate but cannot be assigned to a mortgage

I get half back every time I visit the doctor (usually twice a year for bloods &check up & consultant every couple of years) and the wife went semi private in Holles st twice ( though I couldn't see what difference it made to going public tbh).

So, do I get the full cost of it back, no but it gives good peace of mind for me and my family

Having said that a friend of mine who has never really worked and never had insurance, had the exact same issue as me and spend a week in the same hospital with no waiting...

If it's a serious issue you will be dealt with the same if you have it or not.i suppose the benefit comes in it having to wait a year for tests. Healthcare in this country is essentially "free", it's just a matter of how long you have to wait.

mel.b

I don't have it. In late 2016/early 2017 I had siactica. Went privately for my MRI which was €200 IIRC and another €200 for the consultant. Was sent for an injection and was going to get it done at the galway clinic. The cost for that was €320 - the nurse seemed very surprised that it that cheap - apparently the health insurance companies charge the hospital closer to €700. That was also the price the doctor had told me it would be. I didn't ended up needing the injection thankfully and was refunded the money. I realise not everyone has the money to fork out like that. However the insurance companies won't cover me for my back now for 5yrs as it's counted as a preexisting condition

_Whimsical_

billyhead wrote: »

With the current hospital trolley crisis in the news and the waiting periods to see consultants i was curious to see if you have health insurance. It that time of the year for renewals and new policy's been open. So do you have it, have you ever used it and for those that have it did you ever contemplate giving it up?

Its not going to help you if you land in a public hospital on a trolley in A&E. Insurance doesn't get the ball rolling there any faster. Where it will help us of you have a symptom your doctor is concerned about and thinks needs further investigation. Itll get you much faster scans, consultant appointments, inpatient testing etc and treatment. It can save your life and an awful lot of stress worrying about needing a test etc.
Eg last year I had an symptom my Dr was very concerned about. He picked up the phone in front of me and rang the relevant public hospital clinic and said I needed to be seen immediately, that he was very concerned this was cancer, and they said it'll take 3 months. Then he rang the private secretary of the same consultant who runs that clinic. As I had insurance he saw me first thing next morning and had scans there and then. Within 2hrs I knew I didn't have cancer. I don't know how I'd have managed 3 months waiting for an emergency appointment to find that out.

Its something I'm willing to scrimp and save to have and I'd forgo luxuries for. Like someone said it's a waste of money until you need it.

_Kaiser_

Don't have it, never had it, can't afford it, but luckily like eviltwin above, I can count on one hand the number of times I've been in with a GP since I was a child (early 40s now)

There was an exception to this last year where I had to pay A&E visits twice, but that was more down to an incompetent and lazy GP more interested in charging €60 and writing prescriptions than actually diagnosing the issue - my first clue really should have been the empty waiting room when every other GP in the locality wasn't taking on new patients.

heroics

I would never be without it. Play a lot of sport and my biggest use of it personally has been scans/sport injuries. Usually get in for a scan within a couple of days(mri). A mate on the team has been waiting 4 months for a scan on his back.

My wife had a bone tumour and meant treatment was straight away fully covered in black rock clinic at the time as opposed to waiting for public system.

As said above though if it’s an emergency public is good but if it’s symtoms that you need scans/consultants private is brilliant.

For example broke my ankle training on a Thursday night. In and out of Vincent’s in 2 hours X-ray cast and appt to see consultant Monday. Had operation Tuesday. All on public. Couldn’t have expected any better tbh.

Gael23

_Whimsical_ wrote: »

Its not going to help you if you land in a public hospital on a trolley in A&E. Insurance doesn't get the ball rolling there any faster. .

No it’s not any help in a&e but the minute you get admitted it starts to make a difference. I would even suggest that without health insurance you are less likely to be admitted when you may need to be.

OldMrBrennan83

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KERSPLAT!

Patww79 wrote: »

I'm giving mine up once the current one expires. I cannot get my GP to send me for any tests whatsoever, after trying over a dozen times, so it's pointless having it.

Try a different GP?

OldMrBrennan83

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Agent Coulson

I'm waiting for minor surgery two years so far on the public service as I don't have insurance.

I have been told twice in that time if I wanted to pay €5k I could have the surgery with in a week in the same hospital with the same surgeon doing the op.


I'll wait but it shows what mess the healt service is in to me.

I have it though i did switch last month after vhi refused to pay out on any of the stuff i needed last year. Haven't claimed on the new policy yet but the new one is cheaper and has a bunch of day to day stuff added on with NO policy excess for the dtd stuff. which includes physio and sports massages and all.

appledrop

As the saying goes 'Your Health is you Wealth. For me it would come above everything else. If you arrive in a&e it's not going to make a difference + rightly so but if you need to get any scans etc it could be the difference between you surviving an illness or not. Waits in public sector are a disgrace. I had a minor procedure done a few years ago + wait was 2 weeks but would have been 9mths on public waiting list.

Yes some people think it's a waste as they are lucky enough to never had needed it but none of us know what is ahead.

Kurtosis

Patww79 wrote: »

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GPs act as gatekeepers for diagnostic tests because, as well as positives, such tests do have negatives beyond just financial cost to the health system. I imagine the GPs have not referred you as they do not believe the testing is medically indicated. Having said that, a further opinion from a GP in a different practice could always be different.

Neyite

I used to have it, but when I actually did need referrals and tests it was one of the few areas of medicine they didn't cover. Typical! They'll cover reflexbloodyology and other woo bullsh!t but wont' cover actual stuff people might need it for. Other than that, I've been in great health and mid forties now.

It would be nice to have as a safety net. When I first took out health insurance it was €40 a month or so with Bupa. Then VHI lobbied for price equalisation or whatever it was and the premium went up a bit. Still, it was cheap compared with the others in the market. Then Bupa pulled out and I got a plan with VHI for a bit more than what I was paying. Then the price went gradually up and up until I was being quoted about €120 per month. Meanwhile we were forking out full price for consultants and private appointments they didn't cover, so I gave it up.

BillyBobBS

Never had it or never will.

LirW

Had a family policy, wanted to use it for my son since he needed a minor surgery done, Insurance made it incredibly difficult even getting details off them if they cover it or not, eventually went public since they were useless. A month after that they sent their renewal which was 30% more for not claiming anything, the reason was a typical insurance thing. Needless to say we parted ways.

Without cover now, since money is tight and I need to run a car, it's unfortunately more important. Once the finances are better we'll getting Health insurance but with another provider.

stimpson

Just this week my mother in law was waiting 18 hours on a trolley for an MRI and my mother was sent into the Mater Private A&E who sent her straight to the Urgrnt Cardiac Unit for tests. She was out within the hour along with an appointment to fit a 24 hour heart monitor under her skin.

Guess who has insurance?

McCrack

Gael23 wrote: »

It’s a waste of money until the day you need it. I got quite sick almost exactly 4 years ago. Was sent for some scans and advised the wait was 3 months on the medical card. Had it done in 2 weeks in a private hospital and VHI paid half the cost.
If that was someone with cancer for instance, it may have been too late after 3 months.

Perhaps

However I have experience in the area of medical negligence and cases of delayed/misdiagnosis of cancer have typically come from private clinics and hospitals rather than the HSE/public hospitals

The HSE oversees the National Cancer Control Program which has exacting standards in 8 centres around Ireland.

The private clinics dont subscribe to it

baylah17

I have it and would never be without it.

Lia_lia

I have it through work. Still pay BIK on it of course but it’s a good plan. Used it a few times for gp visits etc. Also used it for a procedure which still took 3 months to wait for (a family member had the same done publicly and took them 1 month to wait). Wasn’t exactly serious but I could have just gone publicly as I still had to pay a good chunk of consultant fees.

I don’t know if I would have it if work didn’t pay for it. Never had it growing up and was fine. But as others have said you don’t appreciate it until you really need it.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

I've always had it and have only ever had small claims for Mrs S on a few occasions.
I haven't used it at all but wouldn't be without it now that we're getting older.

jester77

It's mandatory where I live, I pay around €550 a month now just for myself and have to cover the first €600 of medical costs before I can make a claim. Kids are around €200 each on top of that. Prices have rocketed the last few years, although this year was not too bad, just went up €20 a month. Last year it went up €90 a month. It better pay off later in life if I ever need it.

mariaalice

jester77 wrote: »

It's mandatory where I live, I pay around €550 a month now just for myself and have to cover the first €600 of medical costs before I can make a claim. Kids are around €200 each on top of that. Prices have rocketed the last few years, although this year was not too bad, just went up €20 a month. Last year it went up €90 a month. It better pay off later in life if I ever need it.

What happens to the low-income worker or the unemployed where you reside do they still have to pay the same health insurance.

jester77

mariaalice wrote: »

What happens to the low-income worker or the unemployed where you reside do they still have to pay the same health insurance.

They pay into the public insurance at roughly 15% of their salary. If you are employed, then the employer covers half of it, otherwise you pay full. If unemployed and receiving welfare the government will pay your contribution in most cases.

Geuze

mariaalice wrote: »

What happens to the low-income worker or the unemployed where you reside do they still have to pay the same health insurance.

If you lose your job in Germany, your health insurance does not change.

You and your former employer no longer pay the premium, the State does instead.

Geuze

jester77 wrote: »

It's mandatory where I live, I pay around €550 a month now just for myself and have to cover the first €600 of medical costs before I can make a claim. Kids are around €200 each on top of that. Prices have rocketed the last few years, although this year was not too bad, just went up €20 a month. Last year it went up €90 a month. It better pay off later in life if I ever need it.

From what you describe, you have private HI in Germany, not the public scheme.

seamus

Yep. When my wife was expecting my first child, my Dad asked if I had health insurance, and he said, "Whatever you have to give up, make sure you keep the insurance. Roof over your head, food on the table, and health insurance. Everything else is a luxury.".

And he was dead right. We haven't needed to use it for anything serious, but just having the option there, and having the ability to go the private route when possible is very comforting.

My Dad has had to have several major surgeries and interventions over the last decade, all of which took place in private hospitals and with the utmost of care. I'm 100% sure that had he been without insurance I'd have buried him years ago. So the benefit of health insurance for ourselves, not just the kids, cannot be understated.

I'd much rather we lived in a pure single-payer country and nobody needed health insurance. Ideologically that someone's survival depends on their ability to pay for healthcare makes me sad. But you can't survive on your ideologies, and I can't make the public system better. And so I still pay my health insurance.

jester77

Geuze wrote: »

From what you describe, you have private HI in Germany, not the public scheme.

yip, private is much cheaper than public for me

andekwarhola

Work pay for me and my family. If they didn't, we'd pay for it ourselves.

People saying that any kind of insurance is a waste of money if they don't end up needing to claim is kinda missing the point of insurance.

Permabear

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Cina

Had it practically my whole working career up until last year when my new job didn't offer it in the package by default. Thought to myself "I'm 28, I'm healthy, never had an issue before, f*ck it, I'll be fine without paying the €70+ a month".

Ended up tearing my ACL playing football a few months later and so far have spent €6,500+ on surgery, consults, physio and everything (with 20% back on tax).

So, yeah, basically don't be an idiot like me. If you can afford it, get it.

Cina

Permabear wrote: »

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The state of the public health system in Ireland pales in comparison to that of the U.S. Your health plans are also obscenely more expensive than here! It's not at all comparable. I agree that it's obviously the right thing to get health insurance for your children here still but using the US as an example makes no real sense to me!

Permabear

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Beasty

4 back operations with another 4 back procedures, 3 sinus operations, a face reconstruction, a separate facelift/plastic surgery, a few more broken bones, shoulder surgery, knee surgery, and probably a dozen or more MRIs and numerous other scans and X-rays - still reckon across the family my employer has put more into the insurance than we've got out of it

The good news is the couple of billion we all pay (or have paid) in subs pays a large chunk of consultants fees which discourages them from going elsewhere on qualification

LirW

Out of interest, what plans are people getting, especially the ones that have it tight? Do you keep the plan very basic or are you having a few premiums?
Also are there huge rises in the premiums?
Really interested because I made such bad experience on a basic plan.

r93kaey5p2izun

I have health insurance. A wealthy great aunt paid for it when I was a child so I always had it when nobody else in my family did. I kept it up myself as an adult but had to reduce to a much poorer policy as I just couldn't afford it. I've spent a fair bit of time in hospital and have experienced public wards, private in a couple of public hospitals and private in a couple of private hospitals. I would never again allow myself to be admitted to a fully private hospital that's not colocated with a proper major hospital like the Mater or St Vincents. Unfortunately I can't afford insurance that covers the Mater Private but I will choose public hospitals over the likes of the Hermitage, Blackrock Clinic and Bon Secours for serious illness any day. My current policy offers good hospital cover other than the Mater Private and Blackrock Clinic. I wouldn't feel comfortable without that. It has also covered any scans I've needed at scan centres with no wait.

I pay the same for two pets as I do for myself but the standard of care they receive is far superior. There have been many times when I have wished I could just be seen by the vet.

Kiith

Got it two years ago when i got married. I've been pretty blessed with good health, but my wife has had some trouble. It's around €200 a month, which we could definitely use, but the potential savings (both financially and actual life saving) far outweigh that cost.

Gael23

seamus wrote: »

Yep. When my wife was expecting my first child, my Dad asked if I had health insurance, and he said, "Whatever you have to give up, make sure you keep the insurance. Roof over your head, food on the table, and health insurance. Everything else is a luxury.".

Thats my approach as well. I might not have the best cover out there but once I've covered my big bills and food, my health insurance is next. Even if you go into a public hospital you are treated differently,you get admitted rather than sent home with an outpatient appointment to start and if you need something done it will be done by a fully qualified consultant.
A girl I know without it had a baby a while back. She had serious complications in labour and only when it became a life threatening situation for her and her baby was a consultant called. If she was private she would have been dealing with a consultant all along

LirW

Gael23 wrote: »

A girl I know without it had a baby a while back. She had serious complications in labour and only when it became a life threatening situation for her and her baby was a consultant called. If she was private she would have been dealing with a consultant all along

Afaik Private health insurance covers the room but not always the consultant and if only with the better insurance plans. In a lot of cases the consultant has to be paid from the patients.