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Health Service / Health Insurance etc..

  • 10-07-2015 2:47pm
    #1
    JB81
    Registered Users Posts: 587 ✭✭✭


    Hi

    I am lost trying to understand the Health Service in Ireland. And I am looking some help in simple terms.

    I understand if you have Health Insurance that if you get sick then you can get things quicker ( scans, appointments, beds etc.. ) and are covered for whatever you pay premium for. That I get.

    Now i don't have Health Insurance, so what happens if i get sick. And i need to go to doctor, then a consultant and then have operation(s), check-ups scans, MRI whatever etc.....

    I understand I will be waiting longer for all these. However in terms of payment what happens, say for instance I don't have any money/savings etc.. and things get serious and i need operation/scan appointment immediately or need rushed to hospital or the like ( im talking life threatening illness here ), what or how does it be paid for if i don't have money. Surely I don't suffer if i don't have money??
    Just wondering what the story is as I am trying at the moment to justify Health Insurance costs which are crazy.

    Thanks
    JB81


Comments

  • #2
    coylemj
    Registered Users Posts: 25,308 ✭✭✭✭coylemj


    JB81 wrote: »
    ..... what happens, say for instance I don't have any money/savings etc.. and things get serious and i need operation/scan appointment immediately or need rushed to hospital or the like ( im talking life threatening illness here ), what or how does it be paid for if i don't have money. Surely I don't suffer if i don't have money??

    Medical insurance won't make any difference if you are admitted to A&E with a serious illness or injury. You will be treated the same as everyone else.

    A day or so before you're discharged, someone from patient administration will come to your bedside and casually enquire if you have medical insurance. If they find out that you do, they will retrospectively designate you as a private patient and bill your insurance company for thousands of euros but that won't affect you in the slightest.

    The big difference insurance makes is when it comes to ailments that hospitals will not treat as an emergency, things like knee trouble. For those kinds of things you could be waiting years to see a consultant with no insurance and days or weeks if you do. For treatment, if you have a decent level of insurance cover, it will get you into a private clinic like the Beacon or Hermitage (usually depends on where your consultant hangs out) and you will get the best of care, usually at no more than two or three weeks' notice.


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