Is Health Insurance still necessary?

imokyrok

Like many I've paid Health Insurance all my working life, mainly through fear of the public service not being available when needed. Now like lots of families I'm looking at outgoings and wondering about the necessity for this. €2300 per anum net of taxes. Despite both my husband and I having ongoing health isues I can't recall ever getting money back from VHI.

Speaking to their office today they said the main benefit was being able to see a consultant faster privately than in the public service but as I pointed out there is no reason for me not to simply pay a consultant their fee if I want to go that route. In fact I've done so many times and never received money back.

Anyone any views on this? I'd be especially interested in hearing from people in the health service who are themselves on wages akin to average people. Do they have health insurance? Do they see any particular advantages beyond the luxury of a private room - which is rarely available anyway.

LightningBolt

Some people put the premium aside into an account and use it for medical fees although you'd want to be pretty brazen with children not to have health insurance in my opinion.

delly

In the last 2 years I have used VHI plan B for:
Maternity benefit for my wife €3,000
Intensive care and consultant fees for sick newborn baby €4,500
accommodation allowance while baby was in hospital €500
Consultant fees for wife for post birth issue €1,500.

So yeah, i'd say its pretty worthwhile. Take the previous 8 years before tho', and I never needed it once.

Ogham

imokyrok wrote: »

Speaking to their office today they said the main benefit was being able to see a consultant faster privately than in the public service but as I pointed out there is no reason for me not to simply pay a consultant their fee if I want to go that route. In fact I've done so many times and never received money back.

.

If you have paid money to see a consultant and you have got health insurance - you must have more money than sense!
That isthe whole idea of health insurance - to pay for consultants and treatment. (Unless your cover is very basic)
Personally - I don't have insurance and don't agree with it. Nor do I have a Medical Card.
We are a family of 6 and since moving back from the UK our only costs have been for overnight stays in hospital (about 700 in the last 3 years). Any emergency treatment for broken bones etc would have been done no quicker with health insurance - I am pretty sure .
We probably would have been seen quicker with health insurancethough for other things like investigative procedures. But there are some procedures where private patients have to wait as long as Public ones.
Treatment in Public hospitals is free if you have no insurance or Medical card. You pay per overnight stay (750 euro from JAn - with a cap of 750 in a year).
You might get a bed in a private room with insurance - but no guarantee.

homer911

Consultants Fees are generally paid by way of refund at the end of the cover period.

Fees are usually capped per visit, with a minimum threshold of allowed expense before you get anything back, unless you have day to day cover which can be a bit better, but will cost more.

Is it worth it? Depends on your circumstances, state of health, view of risk etc. The same question applies to all non-mandatory insurance - anything beyond motor insurance and property insurance when you have a mortgage. No one can answer that question but you.

broker2008

imokyrok wrote: »

Like many I've paid Health Insurance all my working life, mainly through fear of the public service not being available when needed. Now like lots of families I'm looking at outgoings and wondering about the necessity for this. €2300 per anum net of taxes. Despite both my husband and I having ongoing health isues I can't recall ever getting money back from VHI.

Speaking to their office today they said the main benefit was being able to see a consultant faster privately than in the public service but as I pointed out there is no reason for me not to simply pay a consultant their fee if I want to go that route. In fact I've done so many times and never received money back.

quote]


(1) You can reduce those premiums pretty easily.

(2) Depending on your individual policy, money back on your consultant visits are either subject to reaching an excess - these can be reduced if you choose the right policy or choose a policy/addition that pays money back towards everyday medical expenses eg day to day 50 with Hibernian Aviva / Health Manager with Quinn or Lifestages with VHI.

Toots

It might be a good idea to look at the other health insurance plans out there and see if there's another one that would suit you. AFAIK, VHI are the most expensive health insurance provider. I switched to Vivas (now Hibernian) about 3 years ago, and my premiums have been much lower and the cover is actually better than the VHI plan I was on.

Have you got your children on your health insurance policy? If they are still young enough to be treated at a children's hospital, then you should consider taking them off your policy. My cousin is a financial advisor and he was saying it's pointless having health insurance for young children, because there are not private hospitals for kids.

imokyrok

Toots85 wrote: »

It might be a good idea to look at the other health insurance plans out there and see if there's another one that would suit you. AFAIK, VHI are the most expensive health insurance provider. I switched to Vivas (now Hibernian) about 3 years ago, and my premiums have been much lower and the cover is actually better than the VHI plan I was on.

Have you got your children on your health insurance policy? If they are still young enough to be treated at a children's hospital, then you should consider taking them off your policy. My cousin is a financial advisor and he was saying it's pointless having health insurance for young children, because there are not private hospitals for kids.

I'd heard that too about children. Mine are 10, 13 and 17 but their cost is only €200 each - still it all adds up.

Delly - I agree that maternity care can be important if you are going private. I'm past that stage though. I'll try asking around about different plans in different companies. Maybe I should try an experiment and ring around asking about waiting lists for various procedures publicly and privately. I like the idea of putting the money into a separate account and using it if necessary for medical fees.

Skillie

I'm a 29 year old male and have never had any form of health insurance. I'm starting to look at getting some but don't have the foggiest about it to be honets, whos any good whos not what cover i need and so on.

I have no kids my fiance is with VHI through work and i'm as healthy as can be really. Don't think i've been to the doctor in over 3 years and rarely get sick when i do its the usual winter bugs or colds maybe once a year at most. I go on hols once or twice a year (make that once in lieu of the current financial climate)

So do i really need it, if i do what do i need and whose my best bet? Is there any independant comparison website that will show the plans comparibly so i can see simply what each is giving me for my money?

broker2008

Have a look at www.hia.ie

babaloushka

imokyrok wrote: »

Like many I've paid Health Insurance all my working life, mainly through fear of the public service not being available when needed. Now like lots of families I'm looking at outgoings and wondering about the necessity for this. €2300 per anum net of taxes. Despite both my husband and I having ongoing health isues I can't recall ever getting money back from VHI.

Speaking to their office today they said the main benefit was being able to see a consultant faster privately than in the public service but as I pointed out there is no reason for me not to simply pay a consultant their fee if I want to go that route. In fact I've done so many times and never received money back.

Anyone any views on this? I'd be especially interested in hearing from people in the health service who are themselves on wages akin to average people. Do they have health insurance? Do they see any particular advantages beyond the luxury of a private room - which is rarely available anyway.

Like you, I am now examining my options regarding health insurance. I've had cover for many years (can't even remember how long) and have only claimed once for a hospital stay. Since there were no private rooms available at the time, I was in the ward anyway and prior to my admission, I had to wait the same 7 hours in casualty as everyone else. Please don't misunderstand me, this experience is risible for anyone and I don't see any justification for preferential treatment. So what am I paying for?
Just recently, I failed to qualify for expenses redemption for VHI Health Steps Gold because somewhere along the line they implemented a restriction of 3 months after renewal for claims. So 2 out of 3 years of claims (my fault for not claiming earlier) went down the pan. Not a huge amount in the scheme of things, but it forced me to look at the real value of health insurance for us and I am coming to the conclusion that we can do without it.
Where we live, there is only one hospital (public) and, as my experience above relates, we are unlikely to be lucky enough to avoid the long wait in casualty or obtain a private room - ever! There are no VHI one stop shops within an asses roar - I'd have to travel 4 hours to get to the nearest one. From listening to a few others, even seeing a consultant privately means a long wait if you want go go locally. And I also know what you mean about not getting back the money paid to see one if it does not include a hospital stay or in-patient treatment. Virtually all of our consultant visits are of that nature, though thankfully few and far between. I'd also like to hear from other people and their considerations re health insurance - as the pension levy bites and tax hikes loom, health insurance is probably going to be on the cutting floor for many household budgets.
I'm going to be researching what it really means to be a patient under the public system and just what I'm in for - any experiences and recommendations are welcome.

billyhead

I am 27 and perfectly healthy. I haven't been to a doctor in about 5 years and was just wondering which company and plan people could advise me to go with. I am a single male and currently have no insurance for health

Blue_Wolf

I suppose if you dont want to wait in public hospital for 12hours

Trampas

imokyrok wrote: »

I like the idea of putting the money into a separate account and using it if necessary for medical fees.

Until something goes badly wrong and you have a bill of ten's of thousands and the money you put a side will not cover.

I say cut corners to save money if you want but health has no price.

babaloushka

Blue_Wolf wrote: »

I suppose if you dont want to wait in public hospital for 12hours

Having private health insurance does not change the waiting time in Casualty for anyone.

babaloushka

Trampas wrote: »

Until something goes badly wrong and you have a bill of ten's of thousands and the money you put a side will not cover.

I say cut corners to save money if you want but health has no price.

The Public Health Service covers everyone - we are not in America. If you need treatment, you will get it - only cost is for hospital bed at €75 per night up to a maximum of €750.
IF (and it's big IF) there is a private bed available, you will get it as a private patient. Otherwise, you will be in the ward with everyone else (personal experience) and VHI still have to pay.
The only other difference is the possibility (likelihood) of a longer wait for non-emergency treatment and that often happens in rural areas regardless, whether or not you have private cover.

AngelinaJolie

I am wondering if I need to pay out so much money for health insurance if I don't have to - I'm single and it's going to cost me over €500. While I'm of child-bearing age I don't see them in the immediate future- plus I think I'd rather pay the public health system than private health insurance companies.

Slice

imokyrok wrote: »

Despite both my husband and I having ongoing health isues I can't recall ever getting money back from VHI.

This is because most claims are direct settlement with the provider where it is an inpatient or outpatient cost. In fact the only costs that are settled between the insurance company and the person covered are day to day costs like GP expenses.

I admit I'm completely biased on this subject but private health insurance is absolutely essential. If you talk to any doctor they will tell you that while the public health service is good if you need treatment for a potentially life threatening condition it's also pretty abysmal where the condition is not life threatening and that's where private healthcare comes in.

What's more, everyone with private health insurance should familiarise themselves with their benefits and entitlements. Often when receiving treatment you'll only get the level of benefit you're entitled to by asking for it. If you know you're going to require treatment in advance it's advisable to talk to your insurance provider beforehand to find out what you can get.

It's also worth shopping around, get the different insurance companies to sell you their products. Take notes and ask them to comment on rival products as a means to get the bigger picture on what's available.

The other thing is you should always go with a plan that offers cover in private hospitals such as VHI Plan B or higher. Paying premium for a policy that only covers you in public hospitals is dead money because there's no preferential treatment for private patients in public hospitals and you're only paying for a service you're already entitled to through the public health service anyway.

Finally, if you're approaching 35 years of age or higher you should get insurance immediately. While the insurance companies cannot charge anyone any more than anyone else because of Government regulation the Government also intend introducing legislation in the not-so-distant future that will allow insurance companies to charge more if the person seeking cover did not have cover prior the age of 35 as these are the people that are more costly to insure.

Getting rid of your cover on the basis that it doesn't provide any value is foolish and the same nonsense argument can be made of any type of insurance product. Essentially private health insurance is an investment in good health and when you think about how much that's worth to you you'll see the value in it then.

It's also especially foolish if you've already had insurance for a number of years because you'll have to re-serve any previously served waiting periods if you have a break in cover of more than 13 weeks. Even if you have a newly diagnosed condition while covered by health insurance it can be deemed a pre-existing condition if your consultant determines that you've had the condition a number of years prior to diagnosis to a time when you didn't have insurance. In the case of a pre-existing condition you have to serve a waiting period of 5 years.

broker2008

You can get a less expensive policy with limited and basic benefits. Have a look at hia.ie to give you a guide on prices and then look at the individual companies for the actual benefits under each policy. The higher the deductible the lower the premium.