Health Insurance (1 Viewer)

[Diddles]

However he's unlikely to have saved all the premium money so in the event of some sort of catastrophic medical event which the money saved would cover he's probably going to be fucked.

I think ye have me wrong, I wasn't suggesting that the money saved from not paying insurance should necessarily be kept as a rainy day fund for medical emergencies. Sitting in the bank or spent on patio heaters, fur coats etc. it was money that didn't have to be given to an insurance company.

Health insurance is really only good for ongoing, non life-threatening conditions, like a gimpy leg for example. If a consultant decides you need a load of physio, you won't have to pay anything beyond the intitial consultation fee and you will skip all the uninsured people on a waiting list who are limping about for a year.

If you are seriously injured in a car crash however, having medical insurance will make no difference to how you are treated on arrival at a hospital. And when it comes to having a serious illness, like cancer for example, the main problem with the health service in this country is getting a prompt diagnosis. If I visit my doctor on Monday and he is worried enough to refer me to a consultant, even though I'm insured I still have to stump up at least 150 euros to pay for it. But a public patient can do the same, rather than waiting six months plus to be seen. And if you are diagnosed with something life threatening you will be treated as a priority regardless of your insurance status.

I think I'll run the risk of potentially spending a year suffering with a gimpy leg and save my 900 euros. And then maybe take my kid to Eurodisney.

 

[Unicron]

I think ye have me wrong, I wasn't suggesting that the money saved from not paying insurance should necessarily be kept as a rainy day fund for medical emergencies. Sitting in the bank or spent on patio heaters, fur coats etc. it was money that didn't have to be given to an insurance company.

I was more using your post as a jumping on poin for saying something ath I'd heard before and thougt was interesting.

 

[Jill Hives]

Question, what the hell is private insurance really getting me?
I keep needing to shell out cash for everything. Is it just about getting access to specialists and hospital stays?
Shouldn't paying 30 euro every six months just for a prescription that you've been told to take for a lifetime be covered, ffs?

 

[rettucs]

Question, what the hell is private insurance really getting me?
I keep needing to shell out cash for everything. Is it just about getting access to specialists and hospital stays?
Shouldn't paying 30 euro every six months just for a prescription that you've been told to take for a lifetime be covered, ffs?

it depends on your plan. I'd say theres an excess, beyond which you can claim back.

you spend X amount on health insurance on the off-chance you'll have more than X amount of health-related bills in any given year. Most people won't/don't. I've had health insurance all my working life (17 years). All bar 1 of those years my health insurance costs were about 10 times more than what I claimed for.

 

[Jill Hives]

What can one generally claim for? I find this whole system backwards. I'm confused.
I pay a ridiculous amount each month for it (got the "best" plan) yet I have never used it in five years.
I pay out of pocket for everything. Another 100 euro spent today. Crazy like.

 

[rettucs]

if you're with VHI you'll have to find the details of your plan and see whats covered

https://www.vhi.ie/healthinsurance/index.jsp

(i'm sure other companies have similar info on their websites)

easiest thing of all is probably just to ring them and ask.

 

[Jill Hives]

My phone phobia will be the death of me.

 

[Unicron]

Tip 1 for saving on your health insurance. By law they have to give you any plan they they offer to any person or group if you ask to sign up for it, they just don't have to advertise them. So if a large organisation, lets say Accenture for example, had a particular plan with VHI/Aviva/Laya that you think would suit you you are entitled to ask for that policy. Trawling though the minutae of the many, many policies that these companies offer is a massive pain in the hole (though there is a website that you can input the parameter of what you want and it'll return the matching policies, can't think of the name right now though, can get it if you wanted), but if you are signed up as an individual private insurance customer there's a very good chance that your insurer offers the same policy in a company or corporate form, which is the exact same policy, but normally cheaper. And if you ask for it, they have to give it to you.

Tip 2, this is probably more relevant if you're rarely in need of making a claim or never reach your excess, if you switch to a policy of similar coverage but where the excess is higher there's significant savings to be made. I did that this year and pretty much saved the increase in price of my old policy. The only impact is that if I need to claim to see a consultant or make some other claim it might cost me an extra tenner in paying the excess.

 

[Denny Oubidoux]

Whats the deal with claiming small extras stuff like gym membership and dental checkups and phyiso appointments? Will they triple the premium next year? My employer pays at the moment so I'm considering claiming for everything before the renewal is due at the start of the month but maybe I'd be storing up trouble for myself.

 

[Unknown Convict]

it's not like home or car insurance. you claim what your policy entitles you to but there are myriad policies, each with different benefits. check the terms.

 

[Unicron]

And your policy is community rated, everyone pays the same premium if they're on that policy