Is Health Insurance Worth The Money ?

pm. · 24-01-2011 05:50PM #1

Hi

My dad has just had an op for pancreatic cancer and all has gone well so far (thank god) I got talking to the doctor and he told me that if you have or haven't got health insurance "you get the same treatment anyway"

I have health insurance (essential plus starter) and the policy is up soon,im not sure if its worth it the renewal is 1600 euro for my family. So whats the benefits of having it ?

Kasabian · 24-01-2011 05:51PM

Yes if you get sick, you avoid the queues is my experience.

FatherLen · 24-01-2011 05:52PM

not if you dont get sick

u140acro3xs7dm · 24-01-2011 05:52PM

pm. wrote: »

Hi

My dad has just had an op for pancreatic cancer and all has gone well so far (thank god) I got talking to the doctor and he told me that if you have or haven't got health insurance "you get the same treatment anyway"

I have health insurance (essential plus starter) and the policy is up soon,im not sure if its worth it the renewal is 1600 euro for my family. So whats the benefits of having it ?

That is probably true but if you go private you will get it months earlier.

pm. · 24-01-2011 05:54PM

Kassidy Low Mouthful wrote: »

That is probably true but if you go private you will get it months earlier.

My dad was waiting 4 weeks

marzic · 24-01-2011 05:55PM

no VHI = HIV...FACT!:D

TeddyTedson · 24-01-2011 05:56PM

pm. wrote: »

Hi

My dad has just had an op for pancreatic cancer and all has gone well so far (thank god) I got talking to the doctor and he told me that if you have or haven't got health insurance "you get the same treatment anyway"

I have health insurance (essential plus starter) and the policy is up soon,im not sure if its worth it the renewal is 1600 euro for my family. So whats the benefits of having it ?

I'm not sure about Health Insurance because I don't need it but car Insurance is not worth it anyway. The charge me a fortune and if I ever make a claim I'll end up paying for it in my premium anyway.

Pace2008 · 24-01-2011 05:58PM

TeddyTedson wrote: »

I'm not sure about Health Insurance because I don't need it but car Insurance is not worth it anyway. The charge me a fortune and if I ever make a claim I'll end up paying for it in my premium anyway.

If you end up in a collision or knock someone down, will you have a few hundred thousand Euro lying around to cover the third party's medical bills should they be seriously injured?

mickoneill30 · 24-01-2011 06:00PM

I don't know, so I didn't vote. I don't have health insurance.

My dad & brother don't have health insurance. My brother was referred to a hospital a couple of months ago and got a bed that day. Then was out a few days later once they diagnosed the problem.

My dad has an ongoing condition that isn't life threatening but requires testing and visits a couple of times a year and he doesn't seem to have any problems.

I've never really been bothered about having a private room in a hospital so thats one bit of health insurance I don't care about.

There's always the fear though that if your diagnosed with something serious you'll be waiting for ages to get sorted.

mikemac · 24-01-2011 06:01PM

Yes

I was getting laser eye surgury and they gave €1000 toward it.
Signed up.
Had the procedure.
Claimed my €1,000 and got my cheque.
Cancelled the policy and got a partial refund, I only had the policy two months

Took out insurance and made money

TeddyTedson · 24-01-2011 06:02PM

Pace2008 wrote: »

If you end up in a collision or knock someone down, will you have a few hundred thousand Euro lying around to cover the third party's medical bills should they be seriously injured?

Hmm I know, but hmm, I can't really say that will never happen but for the average young driver who never makes a claim they are raping us.

Seaneh · 24-01-2011 06:02PM

If you can afford it, yes.
If not, no.

As in, if you can spend it and it doesn't affect your standard or life, then hell yeah, you won't have a medical card anyway and it gives you piece of mind, means you can go private if you need medical attention, get a private room, more access to testing, consultants and treatment. All around will make your life easier.

If you make little enough money to get a medical card, just go down that route.

If you're in the middle, you need to think about it. If it is going to mean you can't afford to live comfortably if you do get insurance, I'd forget about it, sure medical bills can be high, but its not like the HSE will lock you up if you can't afford to pay a bill and they will make a way for you to have a payment plan if its ever needed.

CathyMoran · 24-01-2011 06:13PM

For diagnosis it certainly is of benefit - I am an oesophageal cancer survivor and while it took me 6 weeks to see the particular consultant that I went to see as soon as he saw me I had the tests done within a short period of time.

Fighting Irish · 24-01-2011 06:19PM

I've health insurance and i was diagnosed with something last year, it has helped me hugely, got to see a consultant within 2 months

smash · 24-01-2011 06:23PM

pm. wrote: »

Hi

My dad has just had an op for pancreatic cancer and all has gone well so far (thank god) I got talking to the doctor and he told me that if you have or haven't got health insurance "you get the same treatment anyway"

I have health insurance (essential plus starter) and the policy is up soon,im not sure if its worth it the renewal is 1600 euro for my family. So whats the benefits of having it ?

Your dad had cancer, it's a terminal illness so you'll get treated fast if you have insurance or not.

Now if you go out and screw up your knee and have no health insurance you'll be put on a waiting list for an op for around a year or so and sent home with a crutch.

El Horseboxo · 24-01-2011 06:24PM

I only have health insurance because it's paid for me. I probably wouldn't have bothered otherwise. I recently took out a big life insurance policy though.

ScumLord · 24-01-2011 06:24PM

Going to your GP first speeds things up, health insurance speeds things up even more. I had to go in for a procedure did it both ways. The first time was on the state and took a year to get the procedure. Second time was with insurance took a month to get seen. once I got inside the doors of the hospital you wouldn't know any difference in treatment it's just the wait to get in the door that's different.

Pace2008 · 24-01-2011 06:27PM

steve06 wrote: »

Your dad had cancer, it's a terminal illness so you'll get treated fast if you have insurance or not.

Hope not! A terminal illness is one in which death is almost inevitable in a relatively short timeframe.

chalkitdown · 24-01-2011 06:28PM

Just like to point out that most health insurance policies don't guarantee you a private room.

byhookorbycrook · 24-01-2011 06:31PM

Not fussed on a private room. My meds cost €2,400 each month, covered by VHI.

bobbytables · 24-01-2011 06:38PM

I have mixed feelings about this also. I see people I know that subscribe to premium health care still having to shell out cash to cover the regular bills.

If I'm paying for premium insurance, I would expect everything to be covered, when I need it. Then again while I write this I acknowledge I'm not saying "when I get a flat tyre on my car, I should stick them for the cost of repairs/replacement/etc", which obviously I don't. So it's only for the more serious "what if" scenarios we rely on private health insurance.

To drive my car I have insurance, because it's legally required. It's not legally required to have private health insurance here, which probably causes us to question "value" a bit more when signing up. Also many healthcare subscribers benefit from private policies via their employer.

Throw in that and /touch wood, I've been lucky to have a pretty damn good immune system and have never needed a hospital bed in my entire life so far.

Dozen Wicked Words · 24-01-2011 06:40PM

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

Not fussed on a private room. My meds cost €2,400 each month, covered by VHI.

Taking into account your insurance costs, I dont think (but dont know) you would be much better off if you weren't insured. Doesnt the drug payment scheme mean you only pay 120 euro a month for Meds. Dont know what your insurance costs but I presume its around that figure?

Only guessing with all of the above by the way, happy to be corrected.

byhookorbycrook · 24-01-2011 06:45PM

My meds are not covered under LTI or DPI,have to be done in hospital. My sub is only €700. so well worth it to me.

starlight baby · 24-01-2011 06:47PM

Different scenario as it's not illness related but I had a baby privately and I would say yes yes yes it's worth the money. Mind you, still cost the guts of 5 grand on top of the health insurance contribution of around 4,000 but for me it was worth every penny.

Eviledna · 24-01-2011 06:48PM

The way I see it is that Health insurance, if you can afford it, is insurance to avoid the shambolic way the health system and hospitals deal with the kind of illnesses that may not kill you, but will damn sure hurt like hell while you wait on a waiting list.

Was once told for the investigation of a brain issue that I would wait 6 months for an MRI. Health insurance meant I could get it within two weeks. If that illness had been deadly (luckily it wasn't), my odds on the public system were poor.

It's payment to skip the queue.

enfant terrible · 24-01-2011 06:49PM

CathyMoran wrote: »

For diagnosis it certainly is of benefit - I am an oesophageal cancer survivor and while it took me 6 weeks to see the particular consultant that I went to see as soon as he saw me I had the tests done within a short period of time.

Can i ask which package would be best to cover consultant fee's as most health packages seem not to cover consultant fee's?

Or what would be the best package to cover the most likely needed consultant fee's?

CathyMoran · 24-01-2011 06:57PM

enfant terrible wrote: »

Can i ask which package would be best to cover consultant fee's as most health packages seem not to cover consultant fee's?

Or what would be the best package to cover the most likely needed consultant fee's?

Sorry, that is a problem that I ran into as well - I have multple medical conditions and end up going less than I should as I can not afford to go.

Greyfox · 24-01-2011 07:43PM

Your lucky if you get it paid for through your job but if you don't it's definitely not worth it, like a lot of people it's a luxury I can't afford

Stinicker · 24-01-2011 07:46PM

El Horseboxo wrote: »

I only have health insurance because it's paid for me. I probably wouldn't have bothered otherwise. I recently took out a big life insurance policy though.

I hope your on good terms with the missus!

Canis Lupus · 24-01-2011 07:50PM

Stinicker wrote: »

I hope your on good terms with the missus!

I hope it wasn't as the missus' behest rather :P

sollar · 24-01-2011 07:50PM

Eviledna wrote: »

Was once told for the investigation of a brain issue that I would wait 6 months for an MRI. Health insurance meant I could get it within two weeks. If that illness had been deadly (luckily it wasn't), my odds on the public system were poor.

It's payment to skip the queue.

That is it in a nutshell. Unless you have something very obviously serious you will be put on a long waiting list. People die due to this waiting about.

Its piss poor to be honest.

Is Health Insurance Worth The Money ?

Is health Insurance Worth It 44 votes

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