Is private health care a scam?

2smiggy · 14-03-2018 05:46PM

Dr Brown wrote: »

The problem with health insurance is that when you need to use it you will find it doesn't cover alot of stuff.

i read my policy in advance of paying for it, and got one the covers the issues that i would deem important. i did not just pay for the cheapest one i could find having not read what was and was not covered. I presume most people would do this

splinter65 · 14-03-2018 05:47PM

Danny Donut wrote: »

It always struck me that you wait X time to see a Doctor or pay privately and see the same Doctor in a couple of weeks.

Aren't we employing these people anyway?

Any other occupation would seem suspect. Imagine a plumber - "It'll be 3 months before we can fix your shower unless you want to pay the guy privately"

I don’t even know where to start with you.
Does a plumber get paid from the pot of money that taxpayers pay into to keep the country afloat ?
Think carefully

Avatar MIA · 14-03-2018 05:47PM

corner of hells wrote: »

Some excesses now can be a couple of thousand.

Must be rare/very expensive operations, can't remember any excesses being thousands. Even orthopedic used to be in the hundreds.

Dr Brown · 14-03-2018 05:49PM

Avatar MIA wrote: »

You take out a general policy and as long as you don't have a preexisting condition you'll get the tests done. UNLESS you've already got the test done a short time ago and want it repeated.

Not in my case the test could only be done in a private hospital which was not covered by my 2k insurance.

2smiggy · 14-03-2018 05:50PM

_Whimsical_ wrote: »

Also if you wait to get health insurance until you need actually need medical attention you're classed as having an existing condition which they won't cover either.

which is fair enough really. no point in letting you insure your expensive car after you have crashed it is there ?

corner of hells · 14-03-2018 05:51PM

Avatar MIA wrote: »

Must be rare/very expensive operations, can't remember any excesses being thousands. Even orthopedic used to be in the hundreds.

Hip replacement costs about 10 thousand , some policies cover 80 % leaving an excess of two thousand.

aoh · 14-03-2018 05:58PM

corner of hells wrote: »

Hip replacement costs about 10 thousand , some policies cover 80 % leaving an excess of two thousand.

My first knee replacement cost 10k and the second cost 15k. I changed insurance company just before the first one so I'm quids in (and can walk!!!) I will never give up my insurance.

corner of hells · 14-03-2018 06:01PM

aoh wrote: »

My first knee replacement cost 10k and the second cost 15k. I changed insurance company just before the first one so I'm quids in (and can walk!!!) I will never give up my insurance.

My missus just had her second hip done , I'm enjoying the peace and quiet .

Permabear · 14-03-2018 06:07PM

This post has been deleted.

Danny Donut · 14-03-2018 06:13PM

splinter65 wrote: »

I don’t even know where to start with you.
Does a plumber get paid from the pot of money that taxpayers pay into to keep the country afloat ?
Think carefully

I think you are making my point for me.

btw are you a Doctor?

splinter65 · 14-03-2018 06:42PM

Danny Donut wrote: »

I think you are making my point for me.

btw are you a Doctor?

No. Plumbers are all operating on a private level.
Consultants/surgeons/specialists are operating on two levels.
They get paid from the public purse anyway (huge amounts) and if you can afford it and either pay for private health insurance or just pay them privately then you will
A. Get seen to quicker and
B. Have a nicer experience,
It’s all wrong and highly immoral .

Avatar MIA · 14-03-2018 06:45PM

corner of hells wrote: »

Hip replacement costs about 10 thousand , some policies cover 80 % leaving an excess of two thousand.

10 thousand are the cheap ones

From memory the excesses I remember were in the high hundreds. But, as you say it depends on the policy.

Avatar MIA · 14-03-2018 06:47PM

Dr Brown wrote: »

Not in my case the test could only be done in a private hospital which was not covered by my 2k insurance.

Most insurance policies cover the private hospitals, and for €2k per annum yours surely did.

Snowseer · 14-03-2018 06:55PM

splinter65 wrote: »

No. Plumbers are all operating on a private level.
Consultants/surgeons/specialists are operating on two levels.
They get paid from the public purse anyway (huge amounts) and if you can afford it and either pay for private health insurance or just pay them privately then you will
A. Get seen to quicker and
B. Have a nicer experience,
It’s all wrong and highly immoral .

I guess the argument is that we pay tax to get provided with / subsidate medical treatment. If we cannot get this treatment in a timely fashion, (and may die because of it), something's a bit amiss.

dr.fuzzenstein · 14-03-2018 06:56PM

splinter65 wrote: »

No. Plumbers are all operating on a private level.
Consultants/surgeons/specialists are operating on two levels.
They get paid from the public purse anyway (huge amounts) and if you can afford it and either pay for private health insurance or just pay them privately then you will
A. Get seen to quicker and
B. Have a nicer experience,
It’s all wrong and highly immoral .

I thought they got paid Mickey Mouse money?

tringle · 14-03-2018 06:57PM

Mockba wrote: »

I have no problem with private health. If you want to pay for it then you should be able to. if not then you have to join the queue like the rest of us. I do have a problem with it being the same doctor. He needs to be private or work for the HSE. Working half and half doent work for me.

I agree with that, phone screen smashed so.will be back later with a proper reply

Clickbait · 14-03-2018 06:58PM

I'm paying for a gym membership I'm not using. I think I might cancel and get health insurance instead.

tringle · 14-03-2018 06:59PM

Dr Brown wrote: »

Health Insurance does not cover consultant vists.

Depends on your policy

What Username Guidelines · 14-03-2018 07:01PM

Not necessarily about waiting times either. My daughter went into hospital and I made a mistake on the form in A&E, guess my mind was elsewhere. She ended up as an inpatient for and when she was being discharged, they said we didn't actually have cover for private care. A few back and forths and it was down to my mistake, turns out we were covered. Asked the lady out of interest what the bill was, just north of €80k :eek:

tringle · 14-03-2018 07:02PM

Katgurl wrote: »

This

From what I've personally seen only if you have actually had it officially diagnosed first. If it exists but you haven't had a diagnosis or seen a consultant with it then it isn't a previously existing condition.

splinter65 · 14-03-2018 07:09PM

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

I thought they got paid Mickey Mouse money? ;D

Why did you think that?

Avatar MIA · 14-03-2018 07:10PM

splinter65 wrote: »

Why did you think that?

;D means he was joking

TeaBagMania · 14-03-2018 07:15PM

kneemos wrote: »

What the hell kind of a health service has you waiting three years to see a consultant?

They probably hoping you die in that three years... its cheaper this way

14-03-2018 07:20PM

What Username Guidelines wrote: »

Not necessarily about waiting times either. My daughter went into hospital and I made a mistake on the form in A&E, guess my mind was elsewhere. She ended up as an inpatient for and when she was being discharged, they said we didn't actually have cover for private care. A few back and forths and it was down to my mistake, turns out we were covered. Asked the lady out of interest what the bill was, just north of €80k :eek:

I'd say it was 80k if you're insured and 8k if you're not.

Someone said we need to pay more taxes.
I would pay more taxes if we got a guarantee the service would be more efficient. Unfortunately it seems a lot of the money is falling through holes in various places and front line staff are the ones getting squeezed out whenever there is a cut. I had amazing efficient and prompt service on public for a couple xrays a while back. If the facilities were always going to be that good!

Avatar MIA · 14-03-2018 07:43PM

bluewolf wrote: »

I'd say it was 80k if you're insured and 8k if you're not.

Medical insurance is not like car insurance, everything is costed in advance and subject to audit afterwards. If car insurance ran like medical insurance car insurance would be significantly cheaper.

Sometimes non insured can be more expensive (because insurance is so well regulated) and with cash payers the hospitals are more open as to what they charge.

BarryD2 · 14-03-2018 07:46PM

What I object most to about private health insurance is how it's sold. It's largely sold on the premise that it's like a pension, you pay in when you're young and get the benefit when you're old.

However in reality, it's more like car or house insurance in that your coverage is only good for the period covered and once you can't pay anymore, all your previous contributions come to nought.

The way it's sold is a scam.

Mrs OBumble · 14-03-2018 07:48PM

Danny Donut wrote: »

Any other occupation would seem suspect. Imagine a plumber - "It'll be 3 months before we can fix your shower unless you want to pay the guy privately"

It was like that to get phone lines installed for a good while.

14-03-2018 07:49PM

Avatar MIA wrote: »

Medical insurance is not like car insurance, everything is costed in advance and subject to audit afterwards. If car insurance ran like medical insurance car insurance would be significantly cheaper.

Sometimes non insured can be more expensive (because insurance is so well regulated) and with cash payers the hospitals are more open as to what they charge.

I was thinking of this off the irish life health website:
In 2014 the Government changed the way public hospitals charge health insurers. Previously your health insurer was only charged a higher rate than that charged to the general public if you were accommodated in a semi-private or private room. Now, health insurance customers can be charged over 10 times the normal rate regardless of whether they received semi-private / private accommodation or not.

is it not true?
https://www.irishtimes.com/business/personal-finance/should-you-declare-as-a-private-patient-when-attending-a-public-hospital-1.2733187

_Whimsical_ · 14-03-2018 08:03PM

2smiggy wrote: »

surely that would make a person go out and take out health insurance before you get ill ? it's not much per week over the course of a year, considering what people waste money on a weekly basis

That's why I have health insurance but not everyone is so lucky. It wouldn't be easy to get a good health insurance plan of on social welfare of of you're really struggling with rent or a mortgage.

andekwarhola · 14-03-2018 08:04PM

It's not particularly a nice state of affairs, particularly in a developed country with a large (and poorly allocated) health budget but as long as I have the money to do so, I don't want to make a political issue out of my family's health.

Is private health care a scam?

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