Health insurance or not for cancer patient

sallyanne12

what’s the difference in having private health insurance or not? Take for example a person diagnosed with cancer. How would your cancer care be any different? Do people with private health insurance Have access to better oncologists or how does it work? Does cancer treatment cost the same for everyone?
Is there a point in forking out 1000 a year...

Yyhhuuu

sallyanne12 wrote: »

what’s the difference in having private health insurance or not? Take for example a person diagnosed with cancer. How would your cancer care be any different? Do people with private health insurance Have access to better oncologists or how does it work? Does cancer treatment cost the same for everyone?
Is there a point in forking out 1000 a year...

A GP friend of mine recommended that I get health insurance. Obviously access to diagnostics is a benefit of insurance. The question you pose is interesting. I assume if you pay privately for a C.T. scan or Endoscopy and produce a radiologists report or endoscopists report suggesting ca you are fast-tracked to an Oncologist in the public system? The negative is you cant chose your consultant.

phormium

I think the main difference is getting the diagnosis, if you have worrying symptoms you can get to tests quicker if you have private insurance than if you are going public depending on symptoms of course. If you end up suddenly in A&E then obviously you are in the system quicker so it depends on what the issue is but I'd prefer have it than not if affordable at all.

Irish_peppa

I had some symptons of a certain illness and had to wait over 17 months on waiting list for a hospital check as a public patient. But then again even if you have health insurance and want to get the exact same check privately dont you have to pay upfront yourself at the private hospital or clinic and get the money back at the end of the year after you send in your invoice? So even if you have private insurance dont you have to stump up the full payment at the hospital / clinic then wait for a refund or do you simply give them your insurance details and its free all the way?

phormium

Depends on the test, any time I have had scopes of various sorts for example as day cases all I pay on the day is the excess on my policy which I think was 50 at the time. All the rest is billed directly to health insurer.

The follow up consultants visit you do pay upfront on the day but can claim back whatever portion of that visit you are insured for straight away, Laya have an app for it and refund is in bank account within days. If you paid with a credit card you'd probably have the refund before the bill.

gipi

A wife of a friend of mine had a 12 month battle with cancer a few years ago. While the care received may be the same with or without insurance, he said that having the insurance helped them to get private rooms when they were most needed.