Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie
Hi there,
There is an issue with role permissions that is being worked on at the moment.
If you are having trouble with access or permissions on regional forums please post here to get access: https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058365403/you-do-not-have-permission-for-that#latest

Is health insurance actually necessary in Ireland?

2»

Comments

  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 727 ✭✭✭Ms Happy


    I have health insurance for the past 2 years, I opted for private cover purely out of fear of having to wait on the public system.

    Glad I did!! I did terrible damage to my knee in an accident, torn ACL/MCL/PCL dislocated knee and knee cap and cartilage damage. I was taken to (a public) hospital by ambulance (passed out with the pain en route) Had an xray on my leg about an hour after I arrived, bunch of painkillers and a set of crutches later I was sent on my way! The doctor in A&E said "you may have torn something" that was the only explanation/diagnosis I got from them!

    There was no MRI machine in the hospital, if I didn't have private health insurance I would have been screwed! Called VHI the following morning, had an MRI that day in a private hospital that day. Operation 2 days later, followed by a second.

    Nearly a week in hospital altogether, 2 operations, MRI and consultant fees. I dread to think what would have happened to me if I didn't have private cover!!!!

    (I did think of writing a letter of complaint to the public hospital but that would be a waste of time and energy!)


  • Registered Users Posts: 89 ✭✭smallbrowncat


    ryanf the cost of a hospital bed as public patient is €75 up to a maximum of €750 a year. The €1000 is cost if you are in hospital as a private patient - not the situation I am wondering about where you get the info you need from a consultant, then go back to the public system. See this link on Citizens Info for more.

    Ms Happy I am very glad your knee is much better! However your story does not answer my question. If you were unsatisfied with the public care, you could have called the private hospital or another provider yourself and booked an MRI scan (which can cost from €200+ at some clinics, so not ludicrously expensive). If you were in my situation, having received the results of the scan, surely you could have decided to (1) pay for your knee surgery yourself with money you had saved by not paying exorbitant health insurance premiums for many years (possibly €2k+, depending on the type - I know the cost as my husband has had knee procedures before!) or (2) gone to your GP and asked for a public referral to a consultant based on the info from your MRI.

    Please could you clarify the magic extra thing that your VHI is supposed to cover in this situation? Is it just because people wouldn't put aside money for a rainy day (and that could include medical expenses) - they'd rather pay over the odds "just in case"?

    And btw, you should complain about the public hospital - nothing will change if people don't stand up and complain about poor service. I have complained about poor service in a public hospital and I got an apology and meeting with management where they used my experience to plan how to improve things for other patients (who knows if it's lead to change, but hey it was worth doing).

    I am tempted to contact the Health Insurance Authority with this question. My suspicion after much research, and all this time, is that you can indeed switch between public and private systems.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,279 ✭✭✭NuMarvel


    I am tempted to contact the Health Insurance Authority with this question. My suspicion after much research, and all this time, is that you can indeed switch between public and private systems.

    I asked the Dept of Health about this some time back. Someone can switch from private to public, but the person's placement on a public hospital waiting list should be where they would be if they were public all along. In other words, people switching back to the public system shouldn't have an advantage over people who have been in the public system all along.

    There are some exceptions to this, such as maternity where switching isn't allowed, or urgent cases where a doctor may decide an early admission is required regardless. But in general, people can switch between the two, but they shouldn't have an advantage over those who have been in the public system all along.


  • Registered Users Posts: 89 ✭✭smallbrowncat


    Interesting NuMarvel, thanks for that. I've emailed the HIA, so will post their response when I get it.

    Yes I thought that might be the case. My aim of going to see a consultant privately would be to find out more information so I could decide (1) do I want to pay for any procedure privately myself or (2) now have more information that my case is much more urgent than my GP may have thought, so I will get seen sooner than if I had not gone to see the consultant privately at all (ie I am now an urgent case).


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,279 ✭✭✭NuMarvel


    You'll certainly have the option of reverting to the public system after a private consultation. What will be up in the air is your placement on the public hospital waiting list, if admission is required. FYI, any out-patient tests the private consultant recommends will also have to be paid for privately.

    I'll see if I can dig out a copy of the guidelines the DOH sent me that time. I know I have them somewhere.


  • Registered Users, Subscribers, Registered Users 2 Posts: 47,344 ✭✭✭✭Zaph


    adamski8 wrote: »
    sorry to drag this up but ive been searching the subject all day and these questions are exactly what i want answers to. I really cant see the benefit if you can afford to pay for the elective surgeries!

    Plenty of reasons why it's worth paying for private health insurance in This thread.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,511 ✭✭✭Heisenberg1


    Zaph wrote: »
    Plenty of reasons why it's worth paying for private health insurance in This thread.

    I have read some of the posts on that thread but that doesn't clear it up for me. Take your own post how much would your procedure have cost you if you had paid for it yourself?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 727 ✭✭✭Ms Happy


    Ms Happy I am very glad your knee is much better! However your story does not answer my question. If you were unsatisfied with the public care, you could have called the private hospital or another provider yourself and booked an MRI scan (which can cost from €200+ at some clinics, so not ludicrously expensive). If you were in my situation, having received the results of the scan, surely you could have decided to (1) pay for your knee surgery yourself with money you had saved by not paying exorbitant health insurance premiums for many years (possibly €2k+, depending on the type - I know the cost as my husband has had knee procedures before!) or (2) gone to your GP and asked for a public referral to a consultant based on the info from your MRI.

    Please could you clarify the magic extra thing that your VHI is supposed to cover in this situation? Is it just because people wouldn't put aside money for a rainy day (and that could include medical expenses) - they'd rather pay over the odds "just in case"?.

    Simple answer: I didn't have €6k lying around

    I don't think the rates are exorbitant, I am only paying in a few years so I've actually gotten way more out of VHI than I have paid in.

    To put it simply, VHI is a luxury for some I consider it a necessity


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 13,898 ✭✭✭✭Geuze


    I still don't know whether to get health insurance. My first option if my son was seriously sick (and didn't need immediate hospitalisation) would be to take him home to New Zealand.

    Is it worth getting health insurance for just 2-3 years? My gut says no. But I'd be really interested in hearing what other parents have to say!

    If a child is "seriously sick" then they will get treated.

    Now, if it's not serious, then the waiting times for non-urgent elective treatment can be long.


  • Advertisement
  • Registered Users, Subscribers, Registered Users 2 Posts: 47,344 ✭✭✭✭Zaph


    I have read some of the posts on that thread but that doesn't clear it up for me. Take your own post how much would your procedure have cost you if you had paid for it yourself?

    I've no idea, it was 16 years ago. However the point of my story wasn't specifically about the cost, it was the fact that I was able to have an operation a week later rather than more than six weeks later. That would have been more than six weeks of seriously debilitating pain and probably being housebound for all of that time, as opposed to being up on my feet a week later.

    However I do know that the continuous treatment I have every few months costs approximately €400 each time. I ring my surgeon's secretary when it needs doing, and generally a week or two later I have it done. There's not a hope that I could get it done a) that quickly; or b) as regularly as I need it if I didn't have private health insurance. It's a five minute procedure, but without it I suffer serious pain and my mobility becomes increasingly impaired. The cost comparison between paying for private health insurance vs. going public or paying for it yourself is only one element. For me, and many other people, not being forced to wait 18 months for a consultation or treatment far outweighs the cost.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 10,856 ✭✭✭✭28064212


    Zaph wrote: »
    For me, and many other people, not being forced to wait 18 months for a consultation or treatment far outweighs the cost.
    But going private does not necessarily mean having private health insurance. You can go private and pay for it yourself. PHI is well over €1000 a year at the moment. Saving that >€1000 in an emergency fund may work out far better than paying it to an insurer. Of course, it may not, but it's always a balancing act

    Boardsie Enhancement Suite - a browser extension to make using Boards on desktop a better experience (includes full-width display, keyboard shortcuts, dark mode, and more). Now available through your browser's extension store.

    Firefox: https://addons.mozilla.org/addon/boardsie-enhancement-suite/

    Chrome/Edge/Opera: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/boardsie-enhancement-suit/bbgnmnfagihoohjkofdnofcfmkpdmmce



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,502 ✭✭✭chris85


    28064212 wrote: »
    But going private does not necessarily mean having private health insurance. You can go private and pay for it yourself. PHI is well over €1000 a year at the moment. Saving that >€1000 in an emergency fund may work out far better than paying it to an insurer. Of course, it may not, but it's always a balancing act

    You can go private but costs can be huge depending on what it is. It is a level of uncertainty. €1000 a year in an emergency fund would not go very far for health care privately.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,124 ✭✭✭✭Gael23


    We downgraded my policy this year and it saved about €300.
    So far this year I have had a scan which cost €130, been to 2 consultants which altogether was €320 and one of those wants to see me back which is another €80.
    I potentially might have to get some tests done in hospital so thats another consultant visit, maybe 2 if i need to have a follow up and on this policy there is a €250 excess per admission to hospital.
    If that does happen we will be out of pocket by about €4-500 because of downgrading.

    Thats why you always hold onto your health insurance


Advertisement