Health Insurance Changing to a new insurer? What plan?

jkelly

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Health insurance renewal for me is right around the corner, and my quote (Glo Best plan) is set to jump to €1900, which is a little steep for me. I'm looking to see if I can either improve my cover level, or save a few quid. The amount of plans on the market is staggering, and while the HSA comparison site helps a little, it's still somewhat overwhelming.

What would those more experienced recommend for someone whose circumstances are as follows:

- 34 in late December
- based in South Dublin
- continuous PHI since childhood
- no known preexisting conditions
- not concerned with having day to day (GP etc) expenses covered
- doesn't need any maternity cover or similar
- does want cover for hospital stays and serious illnesses or accidents
- prepared to pay higher per-claim excesses (up to €400) for lower premiums
- access to private hospitals is essential
- access to a private room in a private hospital is also important

I'm unclear as to the benefits of "high tech" hospitals (Blackrock Clinic, Mater Private). What procedures are available there which wouldn't be available from, say, Vincent's Private, or the Beacon (which, despite being a high tech hospital, seems to be covered by many plans across several insurers which exclude the other two)? Is it worth upgrading to cover for those hospitals, at least for day cases?

I'm considering the Irish Life Health's Select More (€950), which covers most of what I want, and the One Plan (€1100) and Company Plan Plus Level 1 (€1400) from VHI. Are these good options for my circumstances and needs? Is there another I should consider?

I did consider some options from LAYA, but the fact that most of the scans didn't seem to be covered in hospitals near to me was a concern, as was the prospect of needing to visit somewhere different every time I had an issue-- I would prefer to consistently visit a single center if something was wrong and I required ongoing treatment.

The big difference between the Irish Life Health option and the VHI ones seems to be the availability of day procedures in Blackrock and Mater Private, and part cover for inpatient procedures at same. Is there something else I'm overlooking, aside the issue of excess and day to day cover?

I would really appreciate some guidance in this area by someone more experienced and knowledgeable!
 
Hi jkelly,

Welcome to AAM. First of all, the 2 VHI plans One Plan and Company Plan Plus Level 1 do not fully cover a private room in a private hospital.
They cover upto the semi-private rate which means there would be a shortfall 'per night' of 200-300 euro, depending on the hospital.

The only plan with VHI covering a private room in a private hospital is Healthplus Choice(old Plan C), price 2879, which is way over the top pricewise.

VHI Alternative
The nearest alternative plan with VHI is 'Company Plan Extra Select' price 1278pa. Regarding cover for a private room in a private hospital, on this
plan there is a shortfall per night of 50 euro.
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Glohealth Alternative
A good alternative with Glohealth, with full cover for a private room in a private hospital, just a once off excess on admission for surgery 250,
is called 'Glohealth Better Active Plan' price 1165pa. This plan also includes hi-tech hospital cover for all 3 hi-tech hospitals.
[broken link removed]

Laya Alternative
A good alternative with Laya Healthcare is called 'Simplicity Plan' price 1087pa.
This plan fully covers a private room in a private hospital, with a once off excess 100 x 2 max per year, regardless of the number of admissions per year.
Just to explain briefly about scan cover, if you choose a non-direct payment centre, there is a 50% refund for radiologists fees and 50% refund for
Radiology diagnostic technical fees through the end of year day to day claim.
There is good day to day cover on this plan, the first 100 not allowed.
[broken link removed]

Irish Life Alternative
Select More plan is a good option at the price 950pa, which would suit your age and stage of life.
Just to point out, if you drop the extra hi-tech hospital cover to choose this plan, if at a later stage you choose a plan including this cover again -
there will be a 2 year waiting time only in respect of any pre-existing conditions.
[broken link removed]

Regarding hi-tech hospital cover on mid-level plans, cardiac and orthopaedic surgery is covered. There is also a list of special procedures
also covered. Glohealth publish a list of these procedures.
[broken link removed]

Also in the Blackrock Clinic and Mater Private, there is a waiver system whereby they fully cover many surgeries and procedures.
This includes plans with 45%+ hi-tech hospital cover with all 4 providers.
More information on the following links;

http://www.blackrock-clinic.ie/about-blackrock-clinic/freephone-enquiry-line/

http://www.materprivate.ie/dublin/patients-visitors/billing-insurance/

They are both helpful with enquiries about this. The above information is not shown or explained anywhere else.
So, its a valuable extra to have included on a plan as an alternative option.
Also, while this will cover a semi-private bed in Mater Private, the Blackrock Clinic don't have any shared wards, all single private rooms as
standard, which would be covered.

So, there are a few alternative options worth considering, with some savings to be achieved.

Regards, Snowyb
 
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So, there are a few alternative options worth considering, with some savings to be achieved.

Regards, Snowyb

Wow, you certainly know your stuff! Thank you so much for your very thoughtful and detailed reply.

The VHI option seems a little pricey considering there is a nightly shortfall, so I think that one is out for me-- on a long stay that could get expensive quite quickly. I also prefer Glo and Irish Life's approach to deciding the required customer payment for the orthopedic procedures, as I know I can find the €2k if I really have to, where as the 20% specified by VHI could be anywhere from €2k to €10k, and this concerns me.

I am looking at the Better Active from Glo, which does indeed seem like a good option... Though I found one from Irish Life called Be Fit 2.1 which is only €100 more, has a €1 excess for Outpatient Benefits, and gives full cover for private rooms in the Beacon and full cover for the cardiac and listed procedures in the Blackrock and Mater Private, which ultimately I think might be best for me.

Thank you for explaining the situation with LAYA's scan centers; I think I understand it better now, though I would prefer a plan which allowed me to visit the most local hospital for most of my Day Care needs, and be fully covered. I did note that Irish Life Health didn't have Blackrock listed as a scan center for CT, but did for everything else-- does anyone have any idea why that might be?

I read the information on the links you provided from the Blackrock and Mater Private, though I admit I do not fully understand that yet. This is the part that confuses me:

One thing which might help is to know that if you have a plan which is the equivalent or higher of VHI plan B (now called Health Plus Access), Irish Life Health (Aviva) Level 2, Laya Essential Plus or Glo Health Better Plan you will be fully covered in the event of requiring admission to Blackrock Hospital.

This is because Blackrock Clinic currently waives the normal supplements attached to these plans.

These plans (the Glo and Irish Life ones, at least) already state that you are covered for admission to this hospital for cardiac and listed procedures. Does this mean you are covered for additional procedures also? Because I spoke with Irish Life by phone the other day and they said that procedures apart from those on the listed and cardiac documents would not be permissible for admission to Blackrock and would have to be done elsewhere.

Thanks again for your time in responding, I really do appreciate it. Navigating this has been a bit of a nightmare!
 
The 'Be Fit 2.1' plan has hi-tech cover (3 hospitals) for cardiac and listed special procedures, but it does not have cover for the section 'procedures other than cardiac or special'. The Beacon hospital is covered under this heading, Blackrock Clinic and Mater Private are not covered. Likewise, Select More plan has no cover for Blackrock Clinic or Mater Private so thats why Irish Life health said that procedures other than Cardiac and listed special procedures would have to be done elsewhere.

Its hard to get definitive info about the nature of procedures covered under this heading - my understanding of it is that 99% of surgery and procedures are covered, as per phone call to Blackrock Clinic. According to Blackrock Clinic, there is very little that isn't fully covered.
One example of a surgery not covered is an adult 'tonsillectomy' - ( children's tonsillectomy is fully covered). They found it hard to think of
other examples as the majority of surgery is fully covered.

The Mater Private waiver list is not as extensive as Blackrock Clinic.
This waiver system, which means that any shortfalls for surgery are not being passed onto the patient, started in 2008 in response to the
recession. Many people switched to lower priced plans at the time from top level plans which would have had a direct impact on the hi-tech hospitals.

Just to clarify about VHI 20% shortfall for orthopaedic surgery, if a person chooses either Blackrock Clinic or Mater Private for surgery, this shortfall will be waived. This is a typical example of how the waiver system works. Note; other private hospitals may collect this 20% shortfall.
I appreciate the 50 euro per night for a private room is a risk, especially if your preference is for a private room.

So, with Glohealth 'Better Active Plan' and Irish Life Health 'Be Fit 2.1' its a choice between good day to day cover or extra hi-tech cover.
Both are worth considering, whichever suits your circumstances overall.
A plan which includes both options, including full cover for a private room in a private hospital, is called 'Best Select Max Cash' price 1400pa.
[broken link removed]


Regards, Snowyb
 
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So, with Glohealth 'Better Active Plan' and Irish Life Health 'Be Fit 2.1' its a choice between good day to day cover or extra hi-tech cover.
Both are worth considering, whichever suits your circumstances overall.
A plan which includes both options, including full cover for a private room in a private hospital, is called 'Best Select Max Cash' price 1400pa.
Regards, Snowyb

Thanks again-- you're a wealth of information! I understand completely what you mean now about the waiver system and shortfalls. I am strongly considering that last option now; it looks like it has an absolute ton of benefits. I appreciate you pointing me to it, since it looks like it could be the right one for me and is similar in price to what I was paying. :)
 
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