Open Heart Surgey Cost

dssherwin

Hi Folks.

Was looking for some information is possible as I cant seem to find anything on the net

I was recently informed my daughter would need open heart surgery and I don't have medical insurance

I was wondering if any one knows the costs involved . I know there is a 75 euro per day till about 750. But I don't know if there will be a direct cost for the surgery

Just trying to get my house in order before hand so if any one could shed any light it would be great

thanks

lonestargirl

There's no cost other than the €75 bed charge. You will not be asked to pay the bed up front and you will be facilitated to pay as you can afford it.

Equality

A public patient may only be charged a set amount per day, for a maximum of ten days, in respect of a stay in hospital.

That is it, so long as the child is a public patient.

The hospital cannot charge more, regardless of how long the child is in hospital. They just have the daily charge, it does not matter if she has surgery once or ten times, it is all included in the ten day cost. The ten days is per calendar month, so if she has surgery in November and is in hospital ten days, she cannot be charged again until next November, twelve months later.

Physiotherapy, if needed after the operation, is free also. Various aids and appliances, if needed, are free.

You will pay the usual fee to attend the GP, and you will pay for drugs once dischaged from hospital, up to the usual limit for a family. A tip here is to get twice the amount in one calendar month (ie to buy on the first and the last day of the month). This gets you two months supply of medicine, for the cost of one month, if the medicine is expensive.

If the child needs a lot of care as a consequence of the surgery, you could apply for domicillary care allowance. This is like child benefit, it is not impacted by the salary of the parent, it is based on the child being ill. Even if you only got it for three months, it would pay for the cost of the hospital fee.

dssherwin

Great information thanks folks that puts my mind at ease a bit.

Equality in relation to the 12 month calender a question you might have an answer for.

She was in crumlin for a week 4 weeks ago and I have just received the bill for that. She will then be in for about a month in Jan / Feb time for her surgery and stay.

She was in for heart related problems in relation to her feeding and had to go on a drip feed on till the op. As it was not part of the surgery do you think I will be charged for that stay and also the stay in Jan/Feb time?

Thanks again

dssherwin

Ohh and thanks for the drugs tip. Between her food (which is medicated) and meds it is coasting a fortune so that will defo help

Thanks

Equality

Think of it this way.

You are charged for the bed/overnight stay. Everything you get while you are there (meals, surgery, drip, bandages, medicine, physio..) is covered by that daily charge.

If she was in hospital for ten days already in say Sept/Oct 2012, then there is no further charge until Sept/Oct2013. It does not matter what is wrong with you, it could be a broken leg in Sept, a hernia in May and a heart attack in June. You pay ten days in total, as a public patient.

You may get charged, because the admin in some hospitals don't link the cases, but all you do in this situation is write in, with the receipt for the first ten days, and explain that under the Health Acts you are not liable. They should then cancel the bill. This is more likely to happen if for example you were in Crumlin for the first stay, and Tallaght for the second stay, as different hospital billing offices don't talk to each other much.

Re: cost of drugs - some pharmacies are sticky about this, so buying on the first and last days of a calendar month works quite well. Other pharmacies are fine, some will give you a three month supply of medicine in a single day, as this means you save two thirds of the cost. I think it can depend on the medicine also, as some medicine may have a short shelf life, so they can't give a three month supply.

Equality

Also you may want to note that some people use the opportunity to stock up on medicine, if they are paying the maximum already in a calendar month.

So for example there is a prescription form of the medicine you use if you have a cold sore. It is twice the price of the stuff you get over the counter, but in practice it is free if you are already paying the max for that calendar month.

This applies to a lot of drugs. Look at what you buy over the counter in a pharmacy, and ask your GP if there is a prescription option. If there is, get the GP to write a prescription, and it is effectively free on any month where you already hit the max cost for medicines.

OUTDOORLASS

have you thought of trying for a Medical Card....
From your post, it seems to be an ongoing complaint.....If you had a Medical Card most everything would be free...

I know of somebody who was slightly above the treshold, She got a very strong letter from her GP, and was
given a medical card. She got it back in about 2 weeks after applying. It is worth a shot....the worst they can
say is NO !
Best of luck

dssherwin

Thanks for the info all round folks . Put my mind at ease anyway.

And true no harm in trying for the medical card might give a go after the week.

Cheers