Public versus Private

CKavo

I am 5 wks pregnant on my first and clueless as to what the next steps are. From the posts here I have determined the first thing I need to do is visit my GP to confirm the pregnancy. From here I am lost.....I have VHI cover which I am aware I can avail of private cover but have heard public's just as good.

From a financial point of view we are not in the best of circumstances.....struggling to pay mortgage....I am working with an agency week to week so wil have no maternity cover....partners job is shaky at the moment.....obviously we hav'nt announced the news to anyone so hav'nt got anyone to confide in. Can anyone recommend any sites I can avail of info on these subjects.....:)

silja

While VHI will cover your private hospital stay, they will not cover the consultant, which will cost you 4000+ euro. It's nice to have the same doctor all the time, and have an experienced doctor at the birth, but honestly, in most cases it is not needed. That being said, I loved loved loved the private hospital room, as I was in 5 nights with twins after a c-section, and you won't get a rprivate room unless you pay the consultant.

Yawns

When it comes down to it on the day you're not guarenteed to have that private room. If they are full you're lumped into public. You'll still get a fully trained docter and midwife wether you are public or private. The only big difference is the money tbh. Would that money not be better used for after the child is born?

Moonbeam

If you are in Dublin semi private is a good choice.

January

The wait for Semi Private visits have gone as bad as the wait for public visits though and you're not even guaranteed to see the same consultant every time when you're semi private.

If you're struggling to pay your mortgage be aware that all these costs have to be paid up front and then claimed back at a later date, with the exception of your accommodation in hospital, which is free if you're public anyway. Care is pretty much the same except you may get a private/semi private room at the end of it all. No guarantee's though.

Moonbeam

it depends on the hospital,In Holles st semi private patients see the same consultant every visit.
Wait is about 1/2 an hour - 45 minutes and for scan it was about 10 minutes.

It really depends what hospital and where in the country you are.

In Dublin the hospitals are crazy busy compared to what they were everything is more crowded,waits are longer.

Grawns

I'm wondering if you go public can you claim back the Statutory Inpatient Charge of €75.00 per day from VHI.

I think I'll go public if I get pregnant again. I paid for semi private in the Rotunda last time, €750 I think. Never saw the same consultant twice and ended up in a public ward for the first 36 hours. Waited ages too. It's now gone up to €1200 for SP I believe. I think I'd rather the cash

ps. Congratulations

Cat Melodeon

I went public and was more than happy with the care I received (in St Luke's, Kilkenny). I had high blood pressure for the last few weeks and the staff were excellent. I had extra scans done, daily monitoring, ended up being induced but there's nothing I would have changed.

Yes, it can be a bit unsettling that you may see different doctors each time but you soon get to know them and the nurses. Even if you go fully private, your consultant could be on holidays or unavailable when you go into labour, and in that scenario it's nice to have met the replacement doctor beforehand. Not that I saw a doctor until after I had delivered, the midwives handled the whole birth themselves.

A friend of mine went private in the same hospital with her first baby (we also had the same consultant). She had a difficult birth but ended up with a different doctor even though she was private. She also ended up in a big ward the first night and only got her own room the second night. She went public the second time and found the service just as good, well better seeing as she didn't have to shell out €3k+ for the experience, and is going public on her third too. I was in a room with three others, and while it would have been nice to be alone, I wouldn't pay so much extra for the lottery of getting one.

January

Grawns wrote: »

I'm wondering if you go public can you claim back the Statutory Inpatient Charge of €75.00 per day from VHI.

I think I'll go public if I get pregnant again. I paid for semi private in the Rotunda last time, €750 I think. Never saw the same consultant twice and ended up in a public ward for the first 36 hours. Waited ages too. It's now gone up to €1200 for SP I believe. I think I'd rather the cash

ps. Congratulations

Are you going to go for c-section next time too Grawns? If you go public you'll have much higher chance because of previous one anyway. I thought the Coombe pushed a bit much for me to go the natural route. I went into labour and had a natural birth second time round.

You don't have to pay any inpatient charges at all when you're public so I woudn't be sure you could claim it back from VHI.

Grawns

adrieanne__x wrote: »

Are you going to go for c-section next time too Grawns? If you go public you'll have much higher chance because of previous one anyway. I thought the Coombe pushed a bit much for me to go the natural route. I went into labour and had a natural birth second time round.

You don't have to pay any inpatient charges at all when you're public so I woudn't be sure you could claim it back from VHI.

Re. section - got my way last time and I'm 100% confident I'll get it this time too Probably does help that they'd be pushing a vbac but I'd have gotten a section lats time if I went public too. You just have to know your facts, establish your rights and insist.

I saw this on the rotunda site about charges for public patients. New stealth tax I guess.
http://www.rotunda.ie/default.asp?p=pu

PUBLIC PATIENT CHARGES

All Gynaecological Inpatients, including Public Patients but excluding Medical Cardholders, are required to pay a Statutory Inpatient Charge of €75.00 per day (€750.00 in 12 months).

So lets say you are there for 3 days - would VHI refund it?

Moonbeam

"All Gynaecological Inpatients" does not include your time there for pregnancy.
It is for people who spend time theire for other gynaecological reasons.
Public care is still free.

PopUp

CKavo,

If you're struggling to pay the mortgage I wouldn't dream of adding another c. 4k to your expenses. Especially if jobs aren't certain.

Personally I am doing the Domino scheme and absolutely delighted with it. But there was a moment last month - we had a bit of a scare. Thankfully everything is fine, but I was so worried I would be bumped to public doctor-led care. If I were high risk, I would want to see the same consultant every time for my own piece of mind. Likewise if there was the increased chance of a section and I thought I'd be spending 3+ days in the hospital - it might be worth it for a private room then. But as it is, I'm hoping to do Early Transfer Home and be out of there as quickly as possible.

How Strange

I'm going public in the coombe; I'm 25 weeks and so far I can't say a word against it. I'm doing combined care so I get to see my gp too.

I've got good health care insurance but after speaking to other women I couldn't really see any benefit to going semi private and we don't have the money for private.

On my last consultant visit I was in and out within an hour but still felt the consultant gave me lots of time. Our 20 week scan was great and we were in for over half an hour, the midwife was lovely and full of information. She gave us lots of pictures and best of all it was free.

If money is an issue then I'd recommend going public. The level of care is very good and I can't see how sp would be better.

Nuna

VHI do cover the €75 public levy, you pay your VHI to cover hospital stays (public or SP and sometimes Private depending on the policy). The lowest level in VHI is Plan P and they only cover public levy's anything above that cover SP rooms and public.

January

Nuna wrote: »

VHI do cover the €75 public levy, you pay your VHI to cover hospital stays (public or SP and sometimes Private depending on the policy). The lowest level in VHI is Plan P and they only cover public levy's anything above that cover SP rooms and public.

Yeah but for maternity care the public levy is not payable, so you can't claim something that you have not paid for.

If you go public you do not get one bill from the hospital for anything.

Cat Melodeon

From irishhealth.com:

What is the Maternity and Infant Care Scheme?

The Maternity and Infant Care Scheme provides a programme of care to all expectant mothers who are ordinarily resident in Ireland. It combines antenatal care provided by a family doctor (GP) of your choice and a hospital obstetrician. You are entitled to the service free of charge, even if you do not hold a medical card.
Patients would normally attend their GP before the 12th week of pregnancy. The GP provides a further 6 examinations during the pregnancy, which are alternated with visits to the maternity unit/hospital. The first visit to the hospital antenatal clinic should take place by the 20th week.



If the expectant mother suffers from a significant illness, e.g., diabetes or hypertension, up to 5 additional visits to the GP may be provided.



The scheme also provides for two post-natal visits to the GP – the first of which is at 2 weeks, when the GP will examine the baby, and the second at 6 weeks, when both mother and baby will be examined.



The mother is entitled to free in-patient and out-patient public hospital services in respect of the pregnancy, and is not liable for any of the hospital charges.


Your GP can provide you with an application form for the Maternity and Infant Care Scheme, which you and your GP will both need to complete. This should then be returned to your Local Health Office, where it will be processed for inclusion in the Scheme.

Other options
You may choose to attend a hospital’s antenatal clinic, rather than receiving antenatal care through the Maternity and Infant Care Scheme. If you are a private patient you will be appointed your own consultant, whom you will see at each visit. Semi-private patients may see a consultant privately or attend a semi-private clinic. Public patients will be seen by doctors at the hospital’s antenatal clinic, or can choose to attend the midwives’ clinic if the hospital has one.
Your GP or local health office will advise you of the nearest maternity hospital(s) and will supply you with a letter of referral. You can telephone the hospital directly to make a first appointment.



If you are opting for a home birth and wish to avail of statutory services, you will need to approach your local HSE Area. They will provide you with a list of midwives/doctors who might attend you. If your HSE Area cannot provide an experienced practitioner in home delivery, they may provide you with a grant of up to €1270 instead, towards contracting the services of a private midwife.

implausible

OP, it really depends on what part of the country you're in. From what I've heard, Dublin hospitals are mad and you may want the reassurance that private cover may offer.

I'm in the Northwest and like you, had private health insurance. My GP recommended not bothering with it when I asked him and I have to say, I found public care brilliant. I had a section and was in a ward with 5 others, but for half the week there were only four of us. As a first time mum and being in for a week, I found being able to chat to other mums in the ward fantastic. Plus, I didn't mind leaving my baby when I went for a shower. Besides, I wasn't expecting my hospital stay to be private and/or comfortable!

As for appointments, yeah, it can be a pain in the ass waiting in a queue, but the flipside was the half-day off work. I ended up seeing the same doctor every time and I couldn't have cared less who got my baby safely into the world as long as she did it.

If you have financial worries, you really could do without the extra stress of a big bill coming in.

CKavo

Thanks a million guys am gona opt for public care...seems the best option for me given my circumstances and I honestly have not heard one argument against going public as everyone is looked after in the long run.

canice

The level of care you get as a maternity public patient is as good as if you went private or semi private, IMO.
I hope you are in the catchment area for the midwifery clinics Domino or ETH. Midwives give you so much more time and listen to your fears and concerns more. They give appointments so there aint any wait and also you get home to your own bed ASAP (If all well with you and your baby) The midwife will come and check on you daily for 5 to 10 days. This is all free of charge. For me the best bit is the care at home, no other people except myself, partner and baby. Also do home births.
Best of luck and if considering Domino call and book early. Plenty of infor on NMH web page.

EmerBaggott

I have health insuracne with Aviva, they offer great maternity benefits. But following birth (everything goes ok), & in conjunction with Aviva how much would I have to pay if I was to go private or semi private. Would the be much in the price owed between the two? Thanks in advance

Moonbeam

You need to check out the maternity benefits on your policy and then check the hospital costs.

BrianBlessed

Does the hospital you have chosen have a Domino scheme? if so then try to get on that.

We were with them in the Rotunda and they gave excellent care and you avoid a lot of the long queues you get when you go public

bumpity

is that domino scheme only in dublin?

BrianBlessed

Waterford and Wexford too according to

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/birth_family_relationships/before_your_baby_is_born/flexible_maternity_services.html

bumpity

hmm..thanks, but not good to me...i'm in limk. anyone know anything about the public/private debate in limk mat?

GoerGirl

Hi there!

Congratulations!

This site is amazing for looking at the various care options in Ireland - its from Cuidiu. There is a section on basic care options and explains what they are and there is also a section to compare the stats and policies of every maternity unit in the Country! Fantastic resource. Here is the section on basic care options: http://www.cuidiu-ict.ie/frulcrum.html?ep=13&ad=23&to=0

If its available to you, I would consider midwife led care options. They are under "public" schemes, so you don't pay extra, but the care is fully facilitating normal birth practices. There is the domino schemes in NMH, Rotunda offer a midwife clinic, and then there are the two MLUs in Drogheda and Cavan. I think Waterford do a domino scheme also. Cork have a fantastic community midwives scheme for home birth also.

I have gone both - public and private. To be perfectly honest, the only difference between public and private care is in your ante-natal care, where you have continuity of carer (see the same consultant at every appointments). When you go into labour, you have the same care as a public patient- assigned a midwife. When I went private I did not get a private room.

Midwife led public is another realm... private room for labour and birth and post-natal with your own pool and bathroom. The rooms even have a place for your husband to stay over! All ante-natal is done with a small team of midwives..so you get to know them. The labour is not under normal hospital obstetric led policy - so they encourage the bath, moving around, intermittant monitoring, etc.

bumpity

aw thanks..can't get over how helpful everyone is on this site!it's so fantastic to get real opinions & advice!thanks everyone!

Frere Jacques

Hi all,
Sorry for the bad pun to start with but I'm going to bump this thread. Can anyone tell me if it is a myth that you can reclaim money from your insurance if you go public instead of private? I've seen people post about "going to" claim back money for not using home cleaning etc.
My wife has Aviva level 2 hospital with day to day and we had our first child public and now that No.2 is on the way we are going public again. I know she can just ring Aviva but she has a lot on her mind at the mo so I'd just like to hear from anyone else in this situation who has gotten a rebate for unused services.
TIA.:)

Moonbeam

You can not reclaim money that you have not spent.

How Strange

In terms of the home help with aviva I think you can opt to take the cash instead. Ring aviva and check. I found that home help fantastic as I'd pretty much stopped doing any housework.

You can also claim back any Physio, massage, lactation consultant, breast pump, private ante natal class expenses incurred in that year subject to the t&c's of your policy.

Hannibal Smith

Frere Jacques wrote: »

Hi all,
Sorry for the bad pun to start with but I'm going to bump this thread. Can anyone tell me if it is a myth that you can reclaim money from your insurance if you go public instead of private? I've seen people post about "going to" claim back money for not using home cleaning etc.
My wife has Aviva level 2 hospital with day to day and we had our first child public and now that No.2 is on the way we are going public again. I know she can just ring Aviva but she has a lot on her mind at the mo so I'd just like to hear from anyone else in this situation who has gotten a rebate for unused services.
TIA.:)

I never got to claim back for the home help...tbh I forgot all about it. I've claimed back for all my semi private expenses, and they never mentioned a home help rebate.

If you go public you won't have any expenses to claim back for. You can only claim for expenses you've paid.