Health Insurance First time health insurance for young family

[kilamangiro]

Hi,

Have never had health insurance, but thinking about it now as we get older and now have a family.

Myself and my wife are both 32.
We have a daughter who is 2 and another baby on the way.

Looking for any recommendations for good value plans that would suit us.

Daughter is (privately, we are paying out of pocket) seeing a consultant in the Mater Private and will continue to do so. This is something that may require surgery in years to come. Am I right in thinking we will not be covered for 5 years (so until she is 7) for this? Either way, cover for Mater Private would be useful.

Neither myself or my wife have any known health problems, though I have had knee problems since I was a young child which I'm certain will need to be dealt with in the coming years.

Am i right in thinking that scans and day-to-day treatments have no waiting times? Does this mean I could theoretically have a scan done on an existing injury and have it covered? Or am I misunderstanding this area?

We would like cover for some private hospitals and don't mind paying a high excess for this.

Are we better off having children on the same plan or on a separate plan?

Goes without saying that we would like to pay as little as possible.

Thanks for your help

 

[snowyb]

Hi Kilamangiro,

Child Options as follows;
1. VHI One Plan Family; price 148pa;(half price offer) all public, private and 3 hi-tech hospitals covered, private/hi-tech excess 125 per admission or day case. No day to day cover on this plan.

2. VHI Parents & Kids Excess plan; price 153pa;(half price offer) all public, private and 3 hi-tech hospitals covered, private/hi-tech excess 75 per admission or day case.

3. Laya Simply Connect Plus; price 280pa; all public, private and 3 hi-tech hospitals covered, private/hi-tech excess 150 x 1 max per year for all
admissions. Day case excess 50 per procedure. Day to day cover included on this plan - 50% refund for consultant visits, gp, dental, physio etc.

4. Laya Control 600 Secure; price 258pa; all public, private and 3 hi-tech hospitals covered, private/hi-tech excess 600 per admission, day case
excess 175 per procedure. Good day to day cover included - 100 refund per consultant visit, 40 per gp, dental, physio etc.

5. Laya Control 300 Create; price 271pa; all public, private and 3 hi-tech hospitals covered, private/hi-tech excess 300 per admission, day case
excess 125 per procedure. Good day to day cover included - 80 refund per consultant visit, 30 per gp, dental, physio etc.

6. VHI Company Plan Plus Level 1.3; price 286pa; all public, private and 3 hi-tech hospitals covered, private/hi-tech excess 150 per admission,
day case 50 per procedure. Good day to day cover included, 50% refund per consultant + gp visits, etc.

[broken link removed]

There is no waiting times applied to day to day cover, so the options including day to day cover maybe worth considering for your daughter,
depending on how many consultant visits she would have per year.

There will be a 5 year waiting time applied to her pre-existing condition, but any other new illnesses arising will be covered after the initial
26 week new customer waiting time, during which just accidents and injuries are covered.

Note; VHI are the only provider that allow children to be insured on their own without an adult on the policy, an adult is just named on the policy but just the child is insured. So the adults can choose a Laya plan while the child can be with VHI.
Note; Laya require at least one adult to be insured with them if a child is included on the policy. You can each choose different Laya plans if it suits.

If you take out health insurance before the new baby is born, the new child can be included for free on the adults policy
until the next renewal date.

Adult Options;
The following options are worth considering, and include cover for all public, private and 3 hi-tech hospitals.

1. VHI PMI 44 16; price 1102pa; all public, private and 3 hi-tech hospitals covered, private/hi-tech excess 150 per admission or day case.

2. VHI Company Plan Plus Level 1.3; price 1128; all public, private and 3 hi-tech hospitals covered, private/hi-tech excess 150 per admission or
50 per day case procedure. Day to day cover included - 50% refund per consultant or gp visit, etc.

3. Laya Control 600 Connect; price 852pa; all public, private and 3 hi-tech hospitals covered, private/hi-tech excess 600 per admission or
175 per day case procedure.

4. Laya Control 300 Create; price 1146pa; all public, private and 3 hi-tech hospitals covered, private/hi-tech excess 300 per admission or
125 per day case procedure. Good day to day cover - refund 80 per consultant visit, 30 per gp visit etc.

5. Laya Control 600 Create; price 1066pa; all public, private and 3 hi-tech hospitals covered, private/hi-tech excess 600 per admission or
175 per day case procedure; Good day to day cover - refund 80 per consultant visit, 30 per gp visit etc.

6. Simply Connect; price 1179pa; all public, private and 3 hi-tech hospitals covered, private/hi-tech excess 150 x 2 max per year for all admissions or 50 per day case procedure. Day to day cover included 50% refund per visit, etc.

[broken link removed]

Regarding MRI scans for a pre-existing condition, there is no 5 year waiting time.
However, I'm not 100% sure about the first 26 weeks for a new customer, my guess is that its covered, but you would need to confirm
same with the provider.

There would be a 5 year waiting time applied if any surgery was required for your pre-existing knee condition, but any other new illnesses
will be fully covered after the initial 26 week new customer waiting time is served.

Regards, Snowyb

 

[kilamangiro]

Thank you for the very detailed reply, it is much appreciated.