Does everyone in Ireland have health insurance? from uk used to NHS, options?

[Angelinao]

Hi,
Am looking for some advice pls. Does everyone in Ireland have health insurance? I currently do not have any and everyone that I tell this to is shocked and tells me to get some quickly!
Does anyone have any advice on which company is the best bearing in mind the current state of things! I have never had health insurance as I am living here from the UK and am used to the NHS.
Any help appreciated!
Thanks
Angelina

 

[Hibernicatio]

I have never had health insurance. 28 years old and fortunately have never required the services of a hospital/doctor

To be honest I dont think about it that much, maybe I should?

 

[ClubMan]

The following HIA [broken link removed] gives some idea of how widespread private health insurance cover is in Ireland:

[broken link removed]

For example:

Chapter Three: Market Overview

• Ownership of private health insurance has increased from 47% in the previous study to 52% of all Irish adults in 2005. Social class has remained a key determinant of ownership and this was not surprising considering the rising cost of cover and the relationship of social class to disposable income.
• Approximately a quarter (26%) of adults indicated they had a medical card with 3% of adults having both a medical card and private health insurance. Age (65+ years) and social class (DE) were key determinants of medical card ownership.
• A sizeable proportion (over 20%) of adults held other health insurance related products (e.g. critical illness, income protection plan) and most considered them as complements to (rather than substitutes for) private health insurance. A high proportion of respondents did not know whether each product was a complement to or a substitute for private health insurance.
• There was a high level of multiple other health insurance related products held by respondents. For example, 75% of those with cash plans also had a critical illness policy and 70% of those with cash plans also had an income protection plan.
7 September 2005

 

[huskerdu]

If you use the search facility, you will find some recent threads about this, this might give you an insight into why some people do or do not have health insurance.