garda medical aid vs vhi

noel32

lads what ye think about vhi v's the medical aid,
what with the cuts at the moment i am finiding the medical aid seriousley hard to pay and considering cutting it for a move to vhi,
thoughs views and comments please ??

goldie fish

VHI will provide nothing near the level of cover the Medical Aid does. Also, the job you are in means you are more likely to require it than a civilian would.

It is the last deduction i would consider getting rid of.

pvt.joker

what about the critical illness scheme, i think its 3.30 a week. Is this worth keeping or would medical aid cover your needs ?

thanks

noel32

pvt.joker wrote: »

what about the critical illness scheme, i think its 3.30 a week. Is this worth keeping or would medical aid cover your needs ?

thanks

i got rid of all the gra stuff for the moment ie the c / illness and gra life b and a and all that stuff,
i wonder how much better the medical aid is, after all that and the vhi will cover you in a private hospital and i think they more or less have the same benifits, saying that i have not looked at it in detail

Hooch

noel32 wrote: »

i got rid of all the gra stuff for the moment ie the c / illness and gra life b and a and all that stuff,
i wonder how much better the medical aid is, after all that and the vhi will cover you in a private hospital and i think they more or less have the same benifits, saying that i have not looked at it in detail

As goldie said.....Medical aid is leaps and bounds above VHI etc. Thats why its so expensive. My advice is never cut it and when/if you have a amily join them up. god forbid anything happens its good to know everything is covered.

On the private rooms medical aid is a fully private room and will transfer you to a hospital that has one if they can. VHI is semi private most of the time.

Medical Aid all the way.

jake59

I've been with the medical aid now for 12 years and only had to use them for a simple operation a few years ago, until this year when i have been in and out of hospital with a few serious injuries from a football match. everything has been looked after in regards to the medical aid and as soon as hospitals ask for your insurance details and you tell them who you are with they nearly break out into song cos they know there will be no problems with payment. Also my wife (also a member) has had to have surgery this year resulting from an injury sustained through work (assault) and the medical aid has sorted everything.
You might not need it now or next year even but for the peace of mind it provides i wouldn't be without it.

pvt.joker

what about the critical illness cover lads, is it a good choice, do many have it ?

JuliusCaesar

In general Critical Illness is not a great deal as it only covers for specified illnesses. If you get an illness not mentioned in the list, you get no payout.

A better cover (which I took myself in preference to Crit Illn) was Income Continuance, where they will make up the difference between your sick pay/social welfare and your normal pay. I've dealt with too many people who've been out of work a long time, ran out of sick pay, and are scraping along with great difficulty on social welfare, and often have to deal with extra travel expenses etc to do with medical appointments - not covered by VHI.

Relevant

Having been treated in hospital under the medical aid and VHI plan B i would say medical aid is far better. It is something which might not seem important now but you'd be glad of it if something ever happened

1922

i've done well from the mecial aid as i've had it all my life through the aul fella

have my own now obviously. find it good for physio etc...do alot of running and football so get alot of stupid injuries. had an operation last year and it didnt cost me a penny...back the years i got my train tracks done on it, contact lenses, laser eye surgery...

probably get value for it if you have a family...mine is almost €25 a week, and while that is around €1200 a year i wouldnt cut it in a million years

klong

Might be a stupid question , but are GSR personnel able to buy into the Medical Aid scheme, or is there a separate scheme set up? (And yes, I know GSR members don't get a wage)

TheNog

I was on Medical Aid up until 18yrs old and then again when I joined up. I did consider cancelling and joining VHI but decided against it. Last year I compared Medical Aid to VHI, Quinn and Aviva and none of them come close to what we have.

Although it is expensive for a family it is well worth it.

brayblue24

Yeah, it is quite expensive for families but I would not consider quitting it for a moment. We were treated like royalty throught two child births-in fact the staff at the medical aid went above and beyond for the first one. Any time any of us has to be poked and prodded (thankfully rarely) the eyes of hospital administrators light up when you say "Garda Medical Aid" simply because, as others have said, they know there will be no issue with payment.
If you have a run of bad luck and have to submit receipts a bit early your payment will be in the bank post haste.

Terrific set up and worth every penny