[Health Insurance] I missed the grace period, but now want insurance. Am I screwed?

CoffeeAnathema

Hi there,


Well, the title may nearly cover my query. But anyway...

I am turning 35 soon, and the whole health insurance issue has occurred to me out of the blue again. Now, I don't have any health issues and count going to the doctor among my least essential activities; however, I also think that if the worst happens, I shouldn't burden the public system as I can now afford not to. On the other hand, I am self-employed and my income fluctuates so much that I can't say I can keep it y-o-y for definite.

However, in 2015, I genuinely couldn't afford to buy a plan. The official FAQs on this issue say that if I buy insurance now, I don't have to pay LCRs in the future. OTOH, it also says that if I lose cover for 13 weeks or more in the future, I probably will. So, what do I do? I could risk leaving it, but I also don't want to have to go to a public hospital for any reason tbh.

Essentially, the question is: is there any point in getting health insurance given my circumstances? Thanks

dennyk

What is your actual goal? If you are just looking to minimize your LCR loading but don't actually care about coverage, you could buy the least expensive plan you can find now (they start at less than €500 a year for really basic plans which cover public hospitals only). Even if you have a later lapse in coverage, your LCR loading will only increase for the time period of the lapse, it doesn't invalidate your earlier coverage period; e.g. if you have insurance from 35 to 40 and then drop it for a year, if you buy it again at 41, your loading would be 2%, not 14%.

If your goal is to stay out of the public health system entirely (even as a private patient in a public hospital), you'd need to be willing to spring for a plan that covers private hospitals; those are a bit more expensive, but can still be had for around €750 a year or so if you don't need coverage for a private room.

Just keep in mind that if you decide to buy a cheap plan now and upgrade to a better plan in the future, you can't avail of the additional coverages under your new plan until two years after you upgrade, so don't be planning on keeping the cheap plan until you get a problematic diagnosis and then rushing to upgrade.

Also, remember that you are paying for public health services via your taxes; using the health services you are entitled to as an Irish citizen is perfectly acceptable. The real advantage of private insurance is to allow you to avail of hospitals and services that aren't part of the public system and/or avoid some of the longer waiting periods you might encounter as a public patient in the public hospitals. Personally I'd prefer to have a good private health insurance plan for my own peace of mind, but many people choose not to have one for one reason or another and just get by using the public system.

skippy2

People should also remember they can purchase services without Health Insurance. So say you do not have Health Insurance and need a Hip replacement you can pay for and get this privately. May not suit everyone but paying some of the premiums over a few years can add up to a lot of money. But then some people like the peace of mind insurance gives