is health insurance worth it?

Stressica

Thinking about getting health insurance, I had a medical card when I wasn't working but then I managed to find full time employment. I don't go to the dr's very often at all as I *touch wood* am normally very healthy.

A few years back I was sposed to have a minor op but I was waiting over a year for an appt just to see the surgeon but I took myself off the llist because 1) the waiting time 2) didn't bother me that much anymore.

If I had health insurance, what would it cover and does it speed up waiting list times for oneself?

and also if you don't have a medical card, what does one pay for I know there's a 100 A+e fee but do you pay for the surgeries etc which would potentially run into tens of thousands?

lonestargirl

You don't pay for surgeries, scans etc. if you admitted to hospital you pay €75 a night up to a max of €750 a year per family.

Gael23

what it covers depends on the policy you choose so is widely variable.
It absolutely does speed up waiting times because you see a Consultant at their private clinic which has a massively shorter waiting list. You would pay their fee and claim back whatever your policy entitles you to, although more basic policies don't cover things like this. On mine at the moment you have to spend €250 before you can claim anything

hfallada

If you ever have a back injury, I know from friends that they can call a private hospital on a wednesday and be under the knife by Friday. You would be waiting up to a year if you went public. You can wait several months for a basic scan using the public system but there would practically no delay going private

Gael23

hfallada wrote: »

If you ever have a back injury, I know from friends that they can call a private hospital on a wednesday and be under the knife by Friday. You would be waiting up to a year if you went public. You can wait several months for a basic scan using the public system but there would practically no delay going private

I actually had an ultrasound not so long ago. My GP said it would take 6 months on the Medical Card, I know now its more like 3 or 4. But I had an appointment about 10 days after being referred to a Private Hospital and got half the cost back off VHI.

hallo dare

I've had a few procedured done on my back over the last few years. Thank God i have Medical Insurance, cos every treatment would have cost me just over €700 a go, and that's before i pay for the bed, etc. There's a charge of €50 I have to pay for before the Insurance kicks in, but still it's small money compared to what I would have to pay without the Insurance.

Traumadoc

Actually a lot of people asking that, for example a young person paying thousands in health insurance , may be better off not buying the insurance and paying cash instead.

For example

Someone between 20-40 would spend 20k on health insurance over 20 years. unlikely to have more than one claim ( pregnancy excluded) so do the math.

Gael23

Traumadoc wrote: »

Actually a lot of people asking that, for example a young person paying thousands in health insurance , may be better off not buying the insurance and paying cash instead.

For example

Someone between 20-40 would spend 20k on health insurance over 20 years. unlikely to have more than one claim ( pregnancy excluded) so do the math.

I know that but what if you get hit with a bill of a few grand that you don't have cash reserves to pay?

lonestargirl

Traumadoc wrote: »

Actually a lot of people asking that, for example a young person paying thousands in health insurance , may be better off not buying the insurance and paying cash instead.

For example

Someone between 20-40 would spend 20k on health insurance over 20 years. unlikely to have more than one claim ( pregnancy excluded) so do the math.

And you have to remember that people are entitled to public care. The cash reserves would be more for elective treatment for which there is a long waiting list or for a diagnostic MRI. Generally the public system deals well with serious illness, it's getting the diagnosis that can be the bottleneck. I'm at the age where many of my friends are pregnant, often those with health insurance choose to go public as the private route costs €2k in consultants fees.

Outkast_IRE

I would previously of said that I wasn't sure however recently the other halfs father was told he needed a hip replacement ASAP, that was over 18 months ago and he is obviously public.

He is on constant pain medication for the last 18 months and is basically crippled, his operation is due to happen next week. It was due to happen last month but they cancelled.


Now I seriously think I would rather go private than spend 18 months + in constant worsening pain, while waiting on a list.

MrCreosote

hfallada wrote: »

If you ever have a back injury, I know from friends that they can call a private hospital on a wednesday and be under the knife by Friday. You would be waiting up to a year if you went public. You can wait several months for a basic scan using the public system but there would practically no delay going private

A back injury that needs surgery that quickly will be seen as fast through the public system. There are plenty of cases of people going privately and ending up with a procedure that they wouldn't have needed- surgeons love to operate after all.

Insurance is good for debilitating but non life-threatening stuff like arthitis needing joint replacements, and expensive tests with a low diagnostic yield like MRIs and colonoscopies etc. At the end of the day it comes down to what level of risk you're willing to accept- it might well be cheaper in the long run to pay upfront for that kind of thing, rather than the drip-drip-drip cost of insurance and part charges.

Traumadoc

lonestargirl wrote: »

And you have to remember that people are entitled to public care. The cash reserves would be more for elective treatment for which there is a long waiting list or for a diagnostic MRI. Generally the public system deals well with serious illness, it's getting the diagnosis that can be the bottleneck. I'm at the age where many of my friends are pregnant, often those with health insurance choose to go public as the private route costs €2k in consultants fees.

Yes a lot of consultants are now balance billing as the insurance won't cover their fees.

Most people in their 20s would be better putting a grand a year into their savings and using it if needed, by the time you are 40 , twenty grand in savings would in all likelihood cover most medical expenses, anything else you can always go public.

I belive a lot of young people are doing the math, thats why reilly wants to introduce penalties to stop people doing it.

WildRosie

My dad was told it'd be three weeks till he saw an oncologist after being diagnosed with cancer (not hugely long, but it is when you're dealing with a tumour that's gone from being asymptomatic to closing his oesophagus off to everything except liquid in the space of a month). He rang the beacon and saw an oncologist the next day and started chemo six days later. He was told that he only had weeks to live without treatment. It frightens the life out of me thinking about where we could be now two months later if he didn't have health insurance.

Gael23

WildRosie wrote: »

My dad was told it'd be three weeks till he saw an oncologist after being diagnosed with cancer (not hugely long, but it is when you're dealing with a tumour that's gone from being asymptomatic to closing his oesophagus off to everything except liquid in the space of a month). He rang the beacon and saw an oncologist the next day and started chemo six days later. He was told that he only had weeks to live without treatment. It frightens the life out of me thinking about where we could be now two months later if he didn't have health insurance.

As a public patient you would be seen reasonably soon once you get diagnosed with cancer but the problem is getting a diagnostic test to come to that stage. Inyour dads case, he would probably have died waiting for an endoscopy through the public system

WildRosie

He had an endoscopic ultrasound and pet scan in the public system, which led to the diagnosis, having also had an endoscopy privately. When the tumour was deemed inoperable, the surgeon then referred him to an oncologist. The reason he moved into the public system was because the surgeon that operates on this particular type of tumour only works in the public system. He was then left on a public waiting list for an oncologist, which we were told would be three weeks. And he had to push and push to find out how long he would be waiting.

Ciarrai76

My husband and I are now debating whether to cancel our health insurance when its up for renewal in Sept. We received our renewal letter from Laya today, and its gone up. We did get a lower quote from Aviva, and this is with their most basic of cover, as its all we can afford.

We really don't know whether to cancel altogether. I know the benefits of having health insurance, as I've used it for various procedures in the past, but when we tried claiming back for a lot of tests etc in a private clinic a couple of years ago, we got nothing back as it fell just under the combined excess (we were both having investigations done). We felt it was a waste of time having the insurance at that point! My husband is pretty certain he is going to cancel his cover, and maybe just keep onto mine. But is there any point? I have had health insurance all my life and I'm a bit scared of getting rid of it! we have a couple of weeks to decide, but I just don't know what to do! We have no kids, so not too worried about that side of things.

monflat

Ciarrai76 wrote: »

My husband and I are now debating whether to cancel our health insurance when its up for renewal in Sept. We received our renewal letter from Laya today, and its gone up. We did get a lower quote from Aviva, and this is with their most basic of cover, as its all we can afford.

We really don't know whether to cancel altogether. I know the benefits of having health insurance, as I've used it for various procedures in the past, but when we tried claiming back for a lot of tests etc in a private clinic a couple of years ago, we got nothing back as it fell just under the combined excess (we were both having investigations done). We felt it was a waste of time having the insurance at that point! My husband is pretty certain he is going to cancel his cover, and maybe just keep onto mine. But is there any point? I have had health insurance all my life and I'm a bit scared of getting rid of it! we have a couple of weeks to decide, but I just don't know what to do! We have no kids, so not too worried about that side of things.

God its a tuff decision as I'd be thinkin the same.
I have never used my health insurance and have it over 10 yrs

However a now ex work colleague had health insurance for 14 yrs cancelled it and then developed. A serious
condition that needed ongoing treatment and monitoring for the rest of his life

Gael23

Ciarrai76 wrote: »

My husband and I are now debating whether to cancel our health insurance when its up for renewal in Sept. We received our renewal letter from Laya today, and its gone up. We did get a lower quote from Aviva, and this is with their most basic of cover, as its all we can afford.

We really don't know whether to cancel altogether. I know the benefits of having health insurance, as I've used it for various procedures in the past, but when we tried claiming back for a lot of tests etc in a private clinic a couple of years ago, we got nothing back as it fell just under the combined excess (we were both having investigations done). We felt it was a waste of time having the insurance at that point! My husband is pretty certain he is going to cancel his cover, and maybe just keep onto mine. But is there any point? I have had health insurance all my life and I'm a bit scared of getting rid of it! we have a couple of weeks to decide, but I just don't know what to do! We have no kids, so not too worried about that side of things.

I would downgrade it and keep it. Insurance is only expensive until the day you need it.

Ciarrai76

ryanf1 wrote: »

I would downgrade it and keep it. Insurance is only expensive until the day you need it.

we are on the lowest cover as it is!

Kurtosis

It may also be worth keeping in mind that the government is planning to introduce Lifetime Community Rating for health insurance from next year.