Do I need health insurance if I just got the medical card

JamAndSam

Quick question

I'll may need minor surgery in the near future.

I just found out I don't have health insurance,
but I recently got the medical card,

My question is would the medical card cover me ?

I have no clue about medical stuff.

any help would be great !!!

gordongekko

As far as I know health insurance won't cover you for a pre existing illness .

BigCOB

Medical card will cover ALL medical needs, so anything arising in the future will be covered. I have also in the past used my newly awarded medical card to retrospectively cover a hospital bill, though this may have been influenced by waiting times etc, can't recall.

*should add here, All necessary medical procedures which are available in the state and some necessary procedures available abroad will be covered too in certain instances

RobFowl

Note, medical cards do not cover you for anything prior to the date of issue!

Medical cards cover you for public hospital and GP treatment, health insurance in Ireland has the main role of allowing you faster access to hospital treatment.

JamAndSam

Thanks for the fast responses !!!

I'll make an appointment with my gp later to officially sort this out.

I was just worried that I would need to get health insurance.

thanks for the help guys

Gael23

you don't absolutely need to have it. But having it mean you get much faster access to treatment if and when you need it. So if yo can afford it and are worried about things like that then its worth looking at.

Gael23

you don't absolutely need to have it. But having it mean you get much faster access to treatment if and when you need it. So if you can afford it and are worried about things like that then its worth looking at.
Things like I had a diagnostic scan recently and waited 2 weeks to get an appointment in a private hospital for which we paid and got half the cost back from VHI. For me to get that same scan in a public hospital on the medical card would have taken 3 months.
You can argue that for certain small things like that you just pay and take the financial hit but thats just one thing I can think of.

OMD

ryanf1 wrote: »

you don't absolutely need to have it. But having it mean you get much faster access to treatment if and when you need it. So if you can afford it and are worried about things like that then its worth looking at.
Things like I had a diagnostic scan recently and waited 2 weeks to get an appointment in a private hospital for which we paid and got half the cost back from VHI. For me to get that same scan in a public hospital on the medical card would have taken 3 months.
You can argue that for certain small things like that you just pay and take the financial hit but thats just one thing I can think of.

Remember though that insurance companies take in premiums, pay out for claims, pay out on expenses and make a profit.
The average person can therefore expect to pay out more in insurance premiums than they would ever have to payout if they choose to pay for it themselves.

Take into account community rating in Ireland, then for the average person, health insurance under the age of 40 is far more expensive than it should. If you have kids you should never bother getting health insurance for them.

Health insurance is a luxury, if you can afford it fair enough but you do not need it.

Mrs OBumble

Also remember that if you take out health-insurance you will not be covered for pre-existing conditions for some years (5 I think).

Note that's pre-existing, not pre-diagnosed. By age 40, there's a lot of stuff you can get that could be argued to be pre-existing.

L1011

Its also half a year even for new diagnoses (except emergency care) and both that and the 5 years raise even more the older you get.

Some insurers choose to waive the 26 weeks, but they're not in any way obliged to.

RobFowl

Please try to stay on topic
Have deleted a few and will delete any more off topic posts.