health insurance....is it worth it?

km79

was looking for peoples views on this?
2 adults 1 child and one more on the way:D costing around 90 a month at the moment and have not used it for anything yet.
basically my question is this would me and my wife be better off paying for serious illness cover/income continuity support instead?

spurious

If I had children I would definitely get health insurance.

dudara

Moved to Banking & Insurance & Pensions

dudara

henryporter

Me and the Mrs. (No kids) pay about €1800 a year for nothing - tried to make a claim last year for a number of things amounting to €600 and none were allowed. New premium just in the door up another €100 - I'll be looking around albeit not that far seeing as theres not much choice.

Used to work in Chicago - paid about $2700 a year but every single thing including standard dental work was included. IMO Irish Health Insurance sucks - its effectively a tax to support a bloated out of control health system. You'd be better sitting on your bum letting the fools who pay health insurance pay for your health care

km79

spurious wrote: »

If I had children I would definitely get health insurance.

thanks for the reply. was just wondering why you say this ? we have had it for 5 years but got nothing for it

MagicMarker

I'm having all 4 wisdom teeth removed next month and it's fully covered. €90 a month is good for a full family. I'm paying €66 just for myself!

Insurance isn't needed.... until it's needed.

My parents paid VHI for donkeys years, covered all the normal stuff (births and whatnot) but when it was really needed it delivered, Mum had a tumour and it was all done very quickly, the GP reckoned if Mum was a public patient she wouldn't have seen the specialist in months. Critical illness cover is all well and good but it doesn't compare to health insurance imo.

Cosmo Kramer

RoverJames wrote: »

My parents paid VHI for donkeys years, covered all the normal stuff (births and whatnot) but when it was really needed it delivered, Mum had a tumour and it was all done very quickly, the GP reckoned if Mum was a public patient she wouldn't have seen the specialist in months. Critical illness cover is all well and good but it doesn't compare to health insurance imo.

That's the sad truth of it. I've seen too many people first hand live and die based on whether or not they had health insurance to ever consider going without it. Forget about the small stuff, it's when it comes to the life threatening illnesses that it might just come to your rescue. If you can afford to keep it then make sure you do.

'tis bad enough seeing the likes of cancer at work when the patient is getting the best medical care available, if you can afford it at all I'd keep paying it. It most certainly is not money for nothing.

Gavin "shels"

MagicMarker wrote: »

Insurance isn't needed.... until it's needed.

Exactly, coming from a family of glasses wearers we great money back on specs. Also GP's visits and the usual.

And then you get the unexpected situations, like what happened in my family last year and the health insurance footed the whole bill (guts of about €60,000, probably more thinking of it).

MissElle

It's definitely worth having imo. I became seriously ill a couple of years ago and the total bill came to about 50,000. The insurance company covered all of it.

Ogham

MissElle wrote: »

It's definitely worth having imo. I became seriously ill a couple of years ago and the total bill came to about 50,000. The insurance company covered all of it.

- But if you didn't have insurance you wouldn't have to pay that 50,000 bill. You would have had the same treatment - and the most you would have paid would be €75 per night in hospital ( up to a maximum of €750 in a any 12 consecutive months). You may have got seen quicker with insurance - but you would not have had a 50k bill without it.

kippy

Ogham wrote: »

- But if you didn't have insurance you wouldn't have to pay that 50,000 bill. You would have had the same treatment - and the most you would have paid would be €75 per night in hospital ( up to a maximum of €750 in a any 12 consecutive months). You may have got seen quicker with insurance - but you would not have had a 50k bill without it.

Only certain people "qualify" for "free" health care.
Once you leave home on a monday morning to go to work you NEED to have some level of health insurance.

NuMarvel

kippy wrote: »

Only certain people "qualify" for "free" health care.
Once you leave home on a monday morning to go to work you NEED to have some level of health insurance.

All Irish residents qualify for the subsidised rates that Ogham mentions in his/her post. You don't need health insurance for purely financial reasons, the cost of public healthcare is reasonably manageable; less than the cost of one adult on VHI's Plan B for a year.

The Citizens Information website has more info on the charges here.

Regarding the broader thread topic, it does seem that you need health insurance (or at the very least, be willing to pay to go privately) to have prompt access to consultants and tests. In the National Treatment Purchase Fund's 2009 Annual Report, the Fund's Chirperson acknowledged that the major bottleneck in the public health system right now is for out-patient consultant visits.

Also, in the Health Insurance Authority's most recent customer survey 67% of health insurance customers felt that health insurance was a necessity and not a luxury. That's not to say those customers are right, but it gives you a good indication of the trust people have in the public health system.

Ogham

kippy wrote: »

Only certain people "qualify" for "free" health care.
Once you leave home on a monday morning to go to work you NEED to have some level of health insurance.

I never said it was totally free - but everyone living in Ireland is entitled to free treatment in public beds in Health Service Executive hospitals and voluntary hospitals. There is a fee per overnight stay - as I said - of 75 euro a night capped at 750 in a year. No one without insurance is charged for anything else - xrays, scans surgery , follow up out patient treatment - all are free.
You do not NEED health insurance .

Hennybug

I'm piggy-backing on this thread as i'm trying to decide myself whether to fork out for it or not. Currently with Quinn and never claimed at all, this years premium with govt levy :rolleyes: has gone way up.

I'm fed up hopping between websites to try and find the cheapest one with best cover - anyone have any suggestions?

NuMarvel

Hennybug wrote: »

I'm piggy-backing on this thread as i'm trying to decide myself whether to fork out for it or not. Currently with Quinn and never claimed at all, this years premium with govt levy :rolleyes: has gone way up.

I'm fed up hopping between websites to try and find the cheapest one with best cover - anyone have any suggestions?

Have you tried the Health Insurance Authority's website? It includes a comparison tool so you can see what the closest matches to your product is after you answer a few questions.

At the very least, ask Quinn for information about the corporate plan that's most similar to yours. All three health insurers have plans that are aimed at the corporate market and very similar to the main stream plans, but a good deal cheaper. Legally, the insurers can't refuse to enrol you on a "corporate" plan.

Hennybug

Thanks NuMarvel will check out that website

rovers2001

Toyed with the idea myself of canceling my health insurance as it is getting more and more expensive.Anyway this year out of the blue my wife had to get an operation and spent a week in a private hospital with fantastic care i might add.I got the statement and the bill the other day and the cost ran over €10k with me just having to pay €125 excess so you can imagine if we didnt have the insurance.Thank god i didnt cancel and wont be either.

moceri

VHI were trying to Bump my elderly Mother onto one of their more expensive plans. When I queried the additional benefits I was told all about the Maternity Cover

Why would an 80 Year old require Maternity Cover? Talk about Mis-selling.

dollydishmop

Ogham wrote: »

kippy wrote: »

Only certain people "qualify" for "free" health care.
Once you leave home on a monday morning to go to work you NEED to have some level of health insurance.

I never said it was totally free - but everyone living in Ireland is entitled to free treatment in public beds in Health Service Executive hospitals and voluntary hospitals. There is a fee per overnight stay - as I said - of 75 euro a night capped at 750 in a year. No one without insurance is charged for anything else - xrays, scans surgery , follow up out patient treatment - all are free.
You do not NEED health insurance .

rovers2001 wrote: »

Toyed with the idea myself of canceling my health insurance as it is getting more and more expensive.Anyway this year out of the blue my wife had to get an operation and spent a week in a private hospital with fantastic care i might add.I got the statement and the bill the other day and the cost ran over €10k with me just having to pay €125 excess so you can imagine if we didnt have the insurance.Thank god i didnt cancel and wont be either.

Referring to a point previously made...if you didn't have insurance, you wouldn't have a bill of €10k+...

When hubby and I first moved over here, we looked into health insurance because we were constantly advised by our peers that if you didn't have it you were stuffed.

We were still humming & hawing over it a year or so later, when hubby snapped his Achilles tendon. He was sent direct to hospital by the out-of-hours doctor's service, and operated on first thing the following morning.
Not knowing what to expect bill-wise, whilst he was languishing in hospital recovering, I looked into trying to scrape up money wherever I could. Expecting a huge 'USA-style' bill for the surgery, x-rays & follow-up appointments etc etc etc I even looked into arranging a bank loan.
Well, when the bill did finally come through it was less than €300....jeez, we were expecting something in the region of €10 or 12k !!! The bill was for 5 nights stay plus the A & E charge.

So after that we questioned even more whether health insurance was worth all the fuss? Seemingly, as far as we could see you were paying the health ins comapnies ridiculous annual amounts.

Fast forward a few years, and I myself fell ill. I had an operation earlier this year, and prior to that I had spent the previous 18 months, under 5 different senior consultants, working concurrently together. Visiting hospital 2-3 times a month to see each different consultant. On each visit, if the consultant himself wasn't available, I simply asked to see the senior registrar instead, and each time my request was complied with. Over the last 2 years I've had MRI scans, 3 x CAT scans, endless x-rays, ECG's etc etc etc...the list goes on and on. The delay between diagnosis and surgery was simply because we were all waiting to see if the surgery was avoidable...and nothing at all do with public vs private, in case anyone jumps on that observation.
And what have I had to pay....well other than GP visit fees to get blood tests done....my only other bill was for €225 for 3 nights stay after my operation.

I've never had to wait months & months for an initial consultation appointment. I think the first consultant appt came through less than 5 weeks after my GP sent the first referral letter. Seemingly once I was in the hospitals' *system* each subsequent referral to a different department happened even quicker than that.
I can't fault any of the treatment or care I have received. During my post-op stay I was in a semi-private room, which would have cost goodness only knows what if I had insurance...but as a public patient...its still just €75/night...

I don't even want to think about what my treatment might have cost if we were insured....or even how much insruance money we would have pad over the years.
I often think the act of having insurance just gives the healthcare providers the greenlight to charge ridiculous amounts of money for services that public patients get for free.

Meh...I'll stick to public thanks. After all I already pay for it with my taxes, so why should I pay for it again through an insurance company?

ellee

I know this thread is dormant, but I thought I would just add that no one ever seems to remember that they could go and get an appointment with a consultant and pay for it themselves. €150 or so usually. It's not as if they'll only see you if you're VHI positive. I'd be a bit more concerned at what tests would cost privately though...

My own experience of public maternity care has also been v positive.

Ms_Opinionated

I wouldnt put my faith in public system. Your only treated immediatley if ur an emergency, after that, suffer on!
Dont understand why people say they are paying for nothing for health insurance!! In my book, thats a good thing that ya never used it!! YOur paying for peace of mind that if you were to fall in you dont have to also worry how you will pay for treatment and your will be seen quickly! Instead of having to be at deaths door on public system

MagicMarker

ellee wrote: »

I know this thread is dormant, but I thought I would just add that no one ever seems to remember that they could go and get an appointment with a consultant and pay for it themselves. €150 or so usually. It's not as if they'll only see you if you're VHI positive. I'd be a bit more concerned at what tests would cost privately though...

My own experience of public maternity care has also been v positive.

Yes and then what? Lets say you pay the 150-200 to see a private consultant and it's decided you are to have minor surgery, how much will that cost in a private hospital?

Doctors fees and consultant fees are not really the issue, health insurance plans don't even cover much of these fees unless you're paying for the most expensive cover. I know when I was paying about 60 a month for insurance and that only entitled me to around €20 off a visit to the doctor and I think it was €100 off consultant fees.

It's when you actually need something done where insurance matters, you can wait many months or even years to have a procedure publicly or you can wait weeks/couple of months to have it done privately.