in patient charges in hosp?

daisydotty

hi can ye clarify a point for me(i'm doing an essay on it)
i'm describing the access to the public healthcare system and i've done medical card holders. now i'm doing non medical card holders and it says on citizens advice website "If you do not have a medical card, you are entitled to free public hospital services but you may have to pay in-patient and out-patient hospital charges". so how is it free?? say i'm a non-medical card holder, admitted to a public hospital for 4 days. what do i have to pay?it says on hse website that if you are admitted to a public hospital as in inpatient without holding a medical card, you are liable for a €75 per day.so id have topay €300.is that right?just want to clarify it before i put it in the essay!!thanks!

drzhivago

daisydotty wrote: »

hi can ye clarify a point for me(i'm doing an essay on it)
i'm describing the access to the public healthcare system and i've done medical card holders. now i'm doing non medical card holders and it says on citizens advice website "If you do not have a medical card, you are entitled to free public hospital services but you may have to pay in-patient and out-patient hospital charges". so how is it free?? say i'm a non-medical card holder, admitted to a public hospital for 4 days. what do i have to pay?it says on hse website that if you are admitted to a public hospital as in inpatient without holding a medical card, you are liable for a €75 per day.so id have topay €300.is that right?just want to clarify it before i put it in the essay!!thanks!

Yes you are correct
This is contained within the health ACTS which specified access to health services in Ireland

Lowest earners get Medical card (FREE GP, FREE MEDICATIONS, FREE HOSPITAL)

Next Lowest get GP Visit Medical CArD ( FREE GP ONLY) pay hospital the €75 per day charge

There is a maximum you can pay on that charge in year, that fee though is for your bed and breakfast as well as treatment so if you need scans/tests/expensive medications while in hospital this is all covrd by the €75

you will notice the difference if you go to US where they itemise the sticking plasters they use on your bill and a 4 days stay could result in a bill for $20,000 (thousand) for a not so serious illness

metrovelvet

drzhivago wrote: »

Yes you are correct
This is contained within the health ACTS which specified access to health services in Ireland

Lowest earners get Medical card (FREE GP, FREE MEDICATIONS, FREE HOSPITAL)

Next Lowest get GP Visit Medical CArD ( FREE GP ONLY) pay hospital the €75 per day charge

There is a maximum you can pay on that charge in year, that fee though is for your bed and breakfast as well as treatment so if you need scans/tests/expensive medications while in hospital this is all covrd by the €75

you will notice the difference if you go to US where they itemise the sticking plasters they use on your bill and a 4 days stay could result in a bill for $20,000 (thousand) for a not so serious illness

You may get a bill from the hospital but your health insurance public or private is still going to pay for it. I like to see the itemisation; its called transparency.

ZYX

drzhivago wrote: »

Yes you are correct
This is contained within the health ACTS which specified access to health services in Ireland

Lowest earners get Medical card (FREE GP, FREE MEDICATIONS, FREE HOSPITAL)

Next Lowest get GP Visit Medical CArD ( FREE GP ONLY) pay hospital the €75 per day charge

There is a maximum you can pay on that charge in year, that fee though is for your bed and breakfast as well as treatment so if you need scans/tests/expensive medications while in hospital this is all covrd by the €75

you will notice the difference if you go to US where they itemise the sticking plasters they use on your bill and a 4 days stay could result in a bill for $20,000 (thousand) for a not so serious illness

Just to clarify DrZhivago's point. The daily hospital charge of €75 applies to everyone not just holders of GP Visit card (obviously except medical card holders). The charge is for a maximum of 10 days in any 12 month period. So the most you will pay in a year is €750. This can then be declared against tax.

drzhivago

metrovelvet wrote: »

You may get a bill from the hospital but your health insurance public or private is still going to pay for it. I like to see the itemisation; its called transparency.

That is incorrect

Health Insurance pays when you are a private patient only to the best of my knowledge (ie possess VHI/QUINN/Hibernian/GARDA Scheme/Prison Officers scheme/ESB scheme)

There is no such thing as public health insurance. there was an OLD VHI plan called plan p which used to pay the outpatient charge but that charge was done away with (different to A&E charge)

If you choose to be treated as a public patient in a public hospital you are subject to the nightly fee which is a public charge and my understanding is that this IS NOT covered by the health insurance companies directly when you leave and you are responsible to pay it. HOWEVER you may be able to include in a claim at the end of the year with the rest of your medical expenses subject to an excess of course

This is an anomaly as the charge is not for being a private patient and the health insurance is specifically to cover the costs of being a private patient

drzhivago

ZYX wrote: »

Just to clarify DrZhivago's point. The daily hospital charge of €75 applies to everyone not just holders of GP Visit card (obviously except medical card holders). The charge is for a maximum of 10 days in any 12 month period. So the most you will pay in a year is €750. This can then be declared against tax.

APOLOGIES all and thanks for pointing that out I missed that in the explanation

There may also be a maximum charge for a family but I am open to correction on that as well


For those who think that is expensive think of what the cost would be in the US even to be a public patient, if there is such a thing there

Conor Berbatov

can anyone help??

I have sent my application to the HSE today for a medical card and am 90% sure I will get one. (I'm on job seekers benefit and have a mortgage and car loan) Heres my problem! I'm just out of hospital and have a 300euro bill, I also paid 60 to see the doctor before hospital. Is it possible to claim back the money for this doctor visit and also use the medical card (provided I get it) to pay the 300 euro bill? When asked in hospital if I had a medical card I obviously said no. Any ideas??

RobFowl

Conor Berbatov wrote: »

can anyone help??

I have sent my application to the HSE today for a medical card and am 90% sure I will get one. (I'm on job seekers benefit and have a mortgage and car loan) Heres my problem! I'm just out of hospital and have a 300euro bill, I also paid 60 to see the doctor before hospital. Is it possible to claim back the money for this doctor visit and also use the medical card (provided I get it) to pay the 300 euro bill? When asked in hospital if I had a medical card I obviously said no. Any ideas??

Sorry but no , a medical card is only valid from the day it is issued. It cannot be used retrospectively.

Conor Berbatov

RobFowl wrote: »

Sorry but no , a medical card is only valid from the day it is issued. It cannot be used retrospectively.

thanks man. thats what i taught alright, its very convenient that there is an 8week waiting list in case anyone "plans" on getting sick!!