Waiting Period Insurance Question!

FA12345

Hi all,


Pretty new to this board so wanted to say hello!

I'm newly pregnant and I am only 4w1d, but my HCG beta levels are quite high - 120 on 13dpo - 2 days bfore period due, though low on Progesterone, my GP doesnt seem to believe in progesterone so is telling me not to worry even though I have a history of chemical pregnancy and miscarriage. It's on the low range of normal. Anyway I'm going to maybe find someone who will check level again in a week and see if I can sort it out.

That aside, I have a good feeling about this one! Now to my question:

I upgraded my insurance policy end of May last year, and there is a 52 week waiting period for the maternity add on to kick in. That will make me 19.5 weeks gone if all goes well. My husband really wants us to go private as he wants the comfort of one consultant, as I spent a lot of time in and out of hospital with one MC. He refuses to budge on it. I'm thinking Shane Higgins in Holles St if he's available.

Does anybody know if its a bad idea to go private now if my policy doesnt kick in until 19 weeks? What if there is complications at say 18 weeks or 14 weeks?

Also, I had another question and I've forgotten... maybe baby brain has kicked in already!!

Thanks all :-)

FA12345

Oooh I remembered my second question!

Can you go public and then switch to private at 19 weeks??

shesty

Your health insurance will not pay for your private treatment up front.
You will have to pay the 3/4k in fees up front to the private clinic in the maternity hospital you go to.Your bed will be covered by insurance after you have the baby so you won't hand over any money for that, and then in the next tax year you can claim back the cost of the fees partially I think (assuming your insurance covers private maternity stay).I don't see any reason why you can't go private but just be aware that you will have to make that payment yourself up front regardless of the insurance cover.

As for switching, I'm sure there would be no problem with it!!!Just watch out if you go private and pay, that you don't have to pay more fees as you go along for extra bloods, scans etc.Some hospitals include everything in that lump sum payment and others don't, they charge 150/200 here and there for scans and bloods.

Edit....I am thinking of tax rebates on fees sorry.You may not have to wait til a new tax year to claim back but you would want to ask your insurance company can fees paid during the waiting period be claimed back once the policy kicks in .......

Millem

Ring insurance company to be 100% sure!

FA12345

Thanks... Yes I'm all good with paying up front. I guess I'm just worried that if something happens before 19 weeks that requires hospitalisation then I will be getting a big bill!!

Peregrinus

FA12345 wrote: »

Thanks... Yes I'm all good with paying up front. I guess I'm just worried that if something happens before 19 weeks that requires hospitalisation then I will be getting a big bill!!

You can always go public at that point.

iamwhoiam

FA12345 wrote: »

Thanks... Yes I'm all good with paying up front. I guess I'm just worried that if something happens before 19 weeks that requires hospitalisation then I will be getting a big bill!!

I had reason lately to check my cover , I rang them and laid all my cards on the table telling them exactly what the issue was . The girl was really helpful and knew exactly what my question was and answered it clearly . Ring them , they know best

jlm29

Congratulations!!
You can go public, and switch to private at a later stage- you may or may not get a discount on fees, depending on your consultant.
You can also just go private from the outset, and if on the off chance you need to be hospitalised between now and then, you can ask to be admitted publicly (or pay the big bill!)

FA12345

jlm29 wrote: »

Congratulations!!
You can go public, and switch to private at a later stage- you may or may not get a discount on fees, depending on your consultant.
You can also just go private from the outset, and if on the off chance you need to be hospitalised between now and then, you can ask to be admitted publicly (or pay the big bill!)

Thanks! I didn't know you could ask to be admitted publicly. I thought you could only go one way or another o_O - that would be perfect then!!

I'm going to ring consultants secretary and insurance company this morning. I'll update which what they tell me in case anyone reading this is in the same situation!

shesty

No, you go into A&E with any problems, and if they are admitting you....they ask for your insurance straight away!Just tell them you are a public patient.You wouldn't make an appointment with your consultant to deal with any problems in early pregnancy-you might see them after the fact, but your first port of call will pretty much always be the hospital emergency room.

Millem

OP if you go private now you are private for all as far as I am
aware. Every time I ended up even in A & E the stickers with my name on it had private. I was always referred to dr X private patient. I was in the rotunda.
I could not of said I am a public patient as my file said private....if that makes sense!
What part of insurance did you upgrade? Was it maternity as in delivery or normal public hospital cover?

In relation to your cover, if you are admitted beforehand it reverts to your cover in a public hospital (not maternity) if that makes sense?
I don’t know if you always had private in a public hospital? Semi p bed is around €813 and private bed is €1000 so shortfall is less than €200.
I never got a bill for A & E visits nor did my insurance company that is free! But everything during an inpatient stay is billed for to insurance company eg blood tests etc. They make you sign a form saying if insurance company won’t pay you will be liable.

If you are with laya or vhi the outpatient maternity fees are an instant benefit.

I have recently moved to Irish life and they are different to laya and vhi in relation to that on my policy and impose a 52 week wait apparently so I made sure I picked one with high enough rebate! Ring the company though to be sure
You do not want a bill!

Naid23

Is your policy a private one or one paid for through your work?

Reason I ask that, I'm covered on my partners work VHI and read on the policy that there is a 52 week period which would coincide with my being 4-5 months. When he called up to enquire, he was advised that because of the high level company policy, the 52 weeks doesnt apply and i'm cover straight away.

Might be worth questioning them on it.

lazygal

Naid23 wrote: »

Is your policy a private one or one paid for through your work?

Reason I ask that, I'm covered on my partners work VHI and read on the policy that there is a 52 week period which would coincide with my being 4-5 months. When he called up to enquire, he was advised that because of the high level company policy, the 52 weeks doesnt apply and i'm cover straight away.

Might be worth questioning them on it.

This is what happened with me. I went on husband's policy after we got married and got pregnant a few months later, my private care was covered without an issue. The policy is vvv comprehensive AFAIK.

FA12345

Thanks for all the info!

Currently I am trying to get through to the consultants secretary, and also the insurance company until I realised that my husband took out the policy in his own name even though we upgraded to Irish Life from Glo Health which was a policy in my own name. I probably wont be able to query the policy as I'm not the policy holder anymore. It is not through work (we're both self employed) ... it's not the cheapest cover so it would be great to find that I'm already insured fully. Just makes things simpler :-)