Do you get the same treatment.

Hootanany

If you have Health Insurance or if you don't.Just wondering?

princess-lala

I'm having a lot of treatment through the public system! Going private just adds €200 per visit!!

Ace Attorney

Afaik you get seen quicker if you private?

princess-lala

Thatdoesnt looksafe tome AHHHHHHH wrote: »

Afaik you get seen quicker if you private?

Few years ago I had a pretty serious accident and needed to see an orthopaedic specialist! Too see him in a public hospital I was waiting 20 weeks, privately 24 weeks!!

wil

I think eventually yes, more or less.
Though it may depend on what you need and where you are
Main difference is how long it takes on the public versus private referral if you have specific non immediate emergency requirements.

Hootanany

princess-lala wrote: »

Few years ago I had a pretty serious accident and needed to see an orthopaedic specialist! Too see him in a public hospital I was waiting 20 weeks, privately 24 weeks!!

Longervforvprivate?

wazky

If you go private, amputation is the LAST resort.

theSHU

You're mad if you don't have health insurance. Do you really want to wait months to see a specialist or to have an operation. Gamble your life just to save a few hundred euro.

endacl

wazky wrote: »

If you go private, amputation is the LAST resort.

Even for migraine?!?

:eek:

o1s1n

theSHU wrote: »

You're mad if you don't have health insurance. Do you really want to wait months to see a specialist or to have an operation. Gamble your life just to save a few hundred euro.

I've gone through both systems with both private health care and public health care. The main difference? The ward I was in public had 6 patients, the ward the moved me into in private had 4.

Same doctors, same waiting time...

Canceled my VHI a couple of years ago when they hiked up the price. Really don't see the point of it.

LETHAL LADY

I don't think private cover provides you with anything apart from a room on your own when you're sick and that's only if it is available. I could never afford cover but when I had a pulmonary embolism I was thrown in the cardiac care ward with about eight other women. I was the youngest on the ward at the time and I had a great laugh with the majority of the women. There was one miserable biddy who kept asking me to change the channel on the tv when it went off, knowing twas a euro for an hours viewing, so wrecked and all as I was I had to tell her to feck off.

endacl

o1s1n wrote: »

Canceled my VHI a couple of years ago when they hiked up the price. Really don't see the point of it.

I cancelled when I saw what a portion of that price hike might be spent on...

"We will pay for treatment and prescribed drugs for the following Complementary Medicines: Chiropractic, Osteopathic, Acupuncture, Homeopathic, Ayurvedic treatment including Herbal and Chinese Medicines provided such treatment is given by a licensed practitioner...."

:mad:

https://www.vhi.ie/pdf/products/VhiInternational_Jan13.pdf

kaimera

Didn't help me after my traffic accident.

Kiwi in IE

I have been wondering about this myself. We have hospital cover for our family but am wondering if it is worth it.

I recently rang a private hospital to book an appointment with an ear, nose, throat consultant for my son. I got sick of the GP telling me he had an infection when he didn't. The consultation costs €80 and the appointment is this week. The useless GP costs €50.

Surely if you see a consultant privately and pay the initial fee, if a serious condition is diagnosed the public system would be obliged to treat it anyhow?

1ZRed

theSHU wrote: »

You're mad if you don't have health insurance. Do you really want to wait months to see a specialist or to have an operation. Gamble your life just to save a few hundred euro.

What if you just can't afford it?

I've payed for a specialist and different consultations and the waiting list for them was still months and months. Going public really couldn't be worse tbh.

Outkast_IRE

There are plenty of advantages to going private. Mainly the wait lists are way shorter for most treatments.

My GF father has been on the waiting list for a hip replacement for over 9 months now, he is in constant pain and mobility impaired, he rung the other day to find out where is he on the list and they said they couldn't see him being called in the next 6 months his name hasn't made the public hospitals list yet !! .

That's over a year in chronic pain, constant need for pain killers. At this stage even his GP has suggested if he took a fall and was brought in as an emergency he would get it done.

Also my mother needs to be sent to hospital regularily as she suffers from emphysema, with private health insurance her GP can ring the private hospital and ask them to admit her for treatment. Once admitited usually the same day, consultants and treatment are taken care of. Now imagine if her GP needed to ring a public hospital to try and get her in the same day or sent her to the A&E to wait on a trolley.

If you have the money its worth it IMO. If funds are tight then I can understand people not having Health insurance, I don't at the moment as im a student but I will have it later in life once im working and on a solid income.

I am also unfortunate enough to know someone who contracted a major infection in a public hospital after a training accident and subsequent surgery.
He was sent home after the surgery and given antibiotics and pain meds, in the subsequent days where he had the surgery started to pain him more and more, become itchy and smell a bit, upon ringing the hospital he was told that's normal. He rang again and explained the pain was getting worse he couldn't sleep with it and told it was normal. A few days later he had to bring himself to A&E in the same hospital and the nurses thought he was just being a pussy, and they were rolling their eyes when he told them the story. When they eventually cut off the bandage the nurse had to run to the corner to vomit into the bucket as she had never seen an infection like it , the stink filled the room.

theSHU

o1s1n wrote: »

I've gone through both systems with both private health care and public health care. The main difference? The ward I was in public had 6 patients, the ward the moved me into in private had 4.

Same doctors, same waiting time...

Canceled my VHI a couple of years ago when they hiked up the price. Really don't see the point of it.

You are put on a waiting list in the public system. For instance you will have to wait for over three months for a colonoscopy on the public system. Meanwhile with health insurance you'd have the test done and commenced treatment (chemo/surgery) within a few days.

LETHAL LADY

Public hospitals deal with a high volume of patients and therefore are familar with all types of medical complaints and can act accordingly. Private hospitals are dealing with fewer patients, yes they can fluff your pillows and make you feel special, but I certainly know which one I would rather end up in.

theSHU

1ZRed wrote: »

What if you just can't afford it?

I've payed for a specialist and different consultations and the waiting list for them was still months and months. Going public really couldn't be worse tbh.

I'm on the Laya basic plan and its about €480. Your health is your wealth.

Pumpkinseeds

I had private health insurance years ago and have been treated as a public patient regularly over the past 7 years. As a surgical patient the treatment I've had has been excellent and there's nothing I could fault other than the waiting times to see the consultant.

I've been waiting for almost 2 years for an MRI that my neurologist requested but I've heard nothing and I'm guessing that I'll be waiting a lot longer for it. My Dad has private health insurance and no matter which of his consultants he sees at the Galway Clinic, he never seems to come away without being referred for yet another MRI, so that's the fault of the private system causing a backlog in the public health system.

endacl

LETHAL LADY wrote: »

Public hospitals deal with a high volume of patients and therefore are familar with all types of medical complaints and can act accordingly. Private hospitals are dealing with fewer patients, yes they can fluff your pillows and make you feel special, but I certainly know which one I would rather end up in.

In the vast majority of cases though, THEY'RE THE SAME BLOODY HOSPITALS! WITH THE SAME BLOODY CONSULTANTS!!

blindside88

LETHAL LADY wrote: »

Public hospitals deal with a high volume of patients and therefore are familar with all types of medical complaints and can act accordingly. Private hospitals are dealing with fewer patients, yes they can fluff your pillows and make you feel special, but I certainly know which one I would rather end up in.

Most consultants work out of public and private hospitals so would see the same conditions. Also if your seeing a specialist they will have spend a large portion of their life studying the specific part of the body you are seeing them about

Hootanany

theSHU wrote: »

You're mad if you don't have health insurance. Do you really want to wait months to see a specialist or to have an operation. Gamble your life just to save a few hundred euro.

But we pay PRSI for this.

anncoates

Would doubt there is much difference in treatment just in time waited to be seen.

My son needed a speech therapist and there was an 18 month waiting list through the HSE but forking up gets you seen right away by a private therapist.

princess-lala

Hootanany wrote: »

Longervforvprivate?

Four weeks longer for a private appointment!

JustAThought

princess-lala wrote: »

Four weeks longer for a private appointment!

That's not the norm IME. I had to see a consultant & asked about public waiting times -9 months I was told -" remembered" I had VHI & was asked if I would prefer an appointment on Tursday or Thursday. That's the central difference. The time you save not waiting can be the difference between being diagnosed & successfully treated, or dying.

That's why people prioritise saving for health insurance . It's the gamble on needing it ; & with the statistics on cancer being so bleak, is this a gamble you want to take.?

kfk

endacl wrote: »

In the vast majority of cases though, THEY'RE THE SAME BLOODY HOSPITALS! WITH THE SAME BLOODY CONSULTANTS!!

The consultants are nicer to their private patients! It must be hard for them to change their mood from patient to patient though!

JustAThought

kfk wrote: »

The consultants are nicer to their private patients! It must be hard for them to change their mood from patient to patient though!

Not too hard when they're getting e200 per visit cash in hand from them, each.

Wibbs

JustAThought wrote: »

That's not the norm IME. I had to see a consultant & asked about public waiting times -9 months I was told -" remembered" I had VHI & was asked if I would prefer an appointment on Tursday or Thursday. That's the central difference. The time you save not waiting can be the difference between being diagnosed & successfully treated, or dying.

Sadly this is most certainly the case and people have died because of it. Even with health insurance this country's health service is below par in a few areas, without it you could be in real trouble.

Hootanany

But it is morally wrong to be told 9 months on public "open your wallet & I will see you on Thursday"

kfk

Hootanany wrote: »

But it is morally wrong to be told 9 months on public "open your wallet & I will see you on Thursday"

But there has to be a difference between private and public. Private patients should have shorter waiting times and should be offered better treatments imo.

Mocha Joe

JustAThought wrote: »

Not too hard when they're getting e200 per visit cash in hand from them, each.

Even if you pay ridiculous VHI prices, you have to pay €200 per consultancy? Insanity.

devnull

I was quoted 18 months to see a neurologist on the public system, now am seeing a doctor in the very same building on private within 3 weeks.

My GP said the first thing he would do is ask for an MRI or a CT which would be another long wait. As I have Laya I can get a CT/MRI done for free at a private scan center at a GP refereal.

So I've had them done (which were fine), and see the doctor all in the space of three weeks. Via public it'd take 18 months to see the consultant, then another long wait for the scan, and then another long wait to get a follow up.

No thanks.

devnull

Hootanany wrote: »

But it is morally wrong to be told 9 months on public "open your wallet & I will see you on Thursday"

The whole Irish health system is morally wrong. I have friends in the UK and they can't believe we have to pay for basic services, the prices we pay prescriptions and yet still we end up with a far worse service than in a country where it is free to use!

OldNotWIse

They should have an option whereby you can pay more if you want to avail of witchdoctorsalternative practitioners, but if you just want normal medical treatment, your premium stays the same.

OldNotWIse

Hootanany wrote: »

But it is morally wrong to be told 9 months on public "open your wallet & I will see you on Thursday"

I think you have to "open your wallet" before you get sick, and whether or not you get sick.

That's why it's called insurance.

Robin132

Kiwi in IE wrote: »

I have been wondering about this myself. We have hospital cover for our family but am wondering if it is worth it.

I recently rang a private hospital to book an appointment with an ear, nose, throat consultant for my son. I got sick of the GP telling me he had an infection when he didn't. The consultation costs €80 and the appointment is this week. The useless GP costs €50.

Surely if you see a consultant privately and pay the initial fee, if a serious condition is diagnosed the public system would be obliged to treat it anyhow?

By all accounts if you go to a consultant privately, any treatment must be carried out privately, you cant be transferred to the public list.

I have had to visit a number of consultants and had a number of procedures and the waiting times were far far less than if I had gone public, if I had gone public in one case I dread to think what would have happened in the 14 months or over i would have had to wait to see the consultant. Same case with the other half, rang the hospital to see when he would be seen as a public patient and was told 3 years but if he went privately he would be seen within 2 weeks.

It is ridiculous and unfair but i would rather have health insurance then wait for public service. But in terms of treatment, same doctors and hospitals in most cases so the only real benefit as people have said is generally reduced waiting times.

TextureLikeSun

My son was very sick from repeat throat infections- we were told he had to get his tonsils out.Told we would have to wait for 3 years on public health system, we pointed out that we actually had vhi and we were told to pick a date that suited.They were removed a month later.No way would we be without for the kids but we had to give up our own as it was too expensive

KimmyKims

I was diagnosed with cancer last July, i didnt have health insurance just a medical card. I have had nothing but excellent care since diagnosis. I was brought in to a private medical centre for an MRI the day after diagnosis as St James didnt have any appointments for a few days. I had to wait only 4 days to see a specialist oncologist and all my tests - CT scan, PET scan and examination under anaesthetic were done all within the month. I had major surgery the start of september and was in hospital for 9 days in a ward with 5 other women much older than myself ( im quite young to have had this type of cancer ) i was looked after so well and enjoyed the company ( after i was weaned off the morphine lol) even now i never have to wait more than a week or two for scans etc ... So in my case i cant fault the system at all

Tiddlypeeps

KimmyKims wrote: »

I was diagnosed with cancer last July, i didnt have health insurance just a medical card. I have had nothing but excellent care since diagnosis. I was brought in to a private medical centre for an MRI the day after diagnosis as St James didnt have any appointments for a few days. I had to wait only 4 days to see a specialist oncologist and all my tests - CT scan, PET scan and examination under anaesthetic were done all within the month. I had major surgery the start of september and was in hospital for 9 days in a ward with 5 other women much older than myself ( im quite young to have had this type of cancer ) i was looked after so well and enjoyed the company ( after i was weaned off the morphine lol) even now i never have to wait more than a week or two for scans etc ... So in my case i cant fault the system at all

The public service isn't much different to the private one if you have a life threatening illness or if the probability of you having one is high.

It only really makes the difference when you fall into the "not high priority but should still be checked out anyway" camp. So someone with a persistent cough will be put on a waiting list with no hurry put on it even tho that could mean any number of life threatening illnesses, because they aren't showing definite signs of being in immediate danger. If that cough turned out to be something like lymphoma then you would be in serious trouble having potentially lost months waiting on a diagnosis where treatment could have long started.

As with all insurance, it's a gamble. A lot of people may never need it. For me as long as the system stays the way it is now I will always try to have health insurance because losing that gamble is a pretty big loss compared to the cost.

o1s1n

Here's an interesting down side to private health care many people don't think about - if you are in an accident and wish to pursue a public liability claim, your private health insurer will want to be reimbursed.

If it was a serious enough accident (badly broken leg) and you were in hospital for a while/had surgery - the final bill can be quite a large sum indeed.

kfk

o1s1n wrote: »

Here's an interesting down side to private health care many people don't think about - if you are in an accident and wish to pursue a public liability claim, your private health insurer will want to be reimbursed.

If it was a serious enough accident (badly broken leg) and you were in hospital for a while/had surgery - the final bill can be quite a large sum indeed.

But that should all be paid by the insurance company that the claim is being made against! Usually the claim would be for medical expenses, legal expenses and general damages.

LoonyLovegood

I was in A&E yesterday morning, if I was a private healthcare patient and got that treatment I'd be disgusted. There's a complete difference between how you're treated. I broke my ankle seven months ago, I'm still waiting on an MRI for it. Not needed anymore, though.

COYW

theSHU wrote: »

I'm on the Laya basic plan and its about €480. Your health is your wealth.

I got mine (just me no dependents) down to €900 by joining them. I was with Aviva prior to that and the quoted me €1200 last year and that is without gp cover. I have never had any claims on my policy. Aviva blamed the shortage in beds and the volume of people cancelling policies for a €250 rise in cover.

On queuing, my mother cannot get private cover due to the nature of her condition and has never had to wait for treatment at any stage.

anncoates

OldNotWIse wrote: »

I think you have to "open your wallet" before you get sick, and whether or not you get sick.

That's why it's called insurance.

You can still get ambushed.

I think our family health insurance costs around 2k a year (I don't know for sure as my job pays it) and we had to get a speech and psychological assessment as my son has a suspected language impairment. 18 months for HSE versus immediately for private, with the costs of the latter nowhere near fully covered by insurance.

So essentially, If we hadn't have had the means to stump up the money, we would have basically been increasing the chances of our child having serious learning difficulties in school.

How is this fair in a country with such a small population and the amount of money that is pissed into the HSE?

Odats

Private healthcare is worth it. I had to have a minor but necessary procedure done a couple of years ago. Went to the GP (private patient) would have been a week if I had a medical card on a Thursday morning, told him I had VHI and was out with the consultant that afternoon and on the operating table the following Wednesday. The operation I was told at the time had a 12 - 18 month waiting list if I was public.

It does help for this, but my mother got very sick a couple of weeks ago and I have to say the care and attention she got was second to none and she had a medical card.

We are lucky compared to America. Imagine paying $1-2K per month in case you got sick. Madness.

donutheadhomer

endacl wrote: »

I cancelled when I saw what a portion of that price hike might be spent on...

"We will pay for treatment and prescribed drugs for the following Complementary Medicines: Chiropractic, Osteopathic, Acupuncture, Homeopathic, Ayurvedic treatment including Herbal and Chinese Medicines provided such treatment is given by a licensed practitioner...."

:mad:

https://www.vhi.ie/pdf/products/VhiInternational_Jan13.pdf

some of these treatments are just water and leafs though aren't they?

OldNotWIse

EurasianBadger wrote: »

some of these treatments are just water and leafs though aren't they?

Don't forget the all important sugar!

Captain Slow IRL

I asked my GP about it years ago, he told me it was a waste of money so I never bothered with it.

shopaholic01

Captain Slow IRL wrote: »

I asked my GP about it years ago, he told me it was a waste of money so I never bothered with it.

It is if it's is a non life-threatening condition that impairs your quality of life and/or ability to work. Good luck getting speedy treatment on the public system.

o1s1n

kfk wrote: »

But that should all be paid by the insurance company that the claim is being made against! Usually the claim would be for medical expenses, legal expenses and general damages.

Yep! That's right.

However I still get the impression that if you have an approx say 25k claim and the private medical expenses are 10k (which wouldn't have existed if you went public), it's going to have an affect on your general damages bargaining power if you decide to settle.