# Is private health insurance really necessary?



## record (9 Feb 2009)

I have had private health insurance all my working life and, thankfully, have never had to avail of it. I have had several contacts with the medical system for various reasons over the last couple of years and have to say that the public health service was good each time.

My health insurance policy (for myself, wife and 3 kids) is now due for renewal. In these belt-tighteneing times, is private health insurance really necessary?

I know you get things like access to private hospitals, but would you essentially get the same medical care no matter what?

Thanks for any opinions on this.


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## truthseeker (9 Feb 2009)

If something sudden and life threatening happens to you you are going to be seen quickly in a public hospital.

The level of care is probably just as good public or private - for the most part its the same consultants anyway.

However - the waiting times for a public appointment Vs a private appointment for non life threatening but potentially painful/annoying condition can be very long. Ditto the wait times for tests via public system (like MRI etc...).

Just as an example. My GP sent in a letter to a public hospital for an ENT appointment for me a number of years ago. Fully 3 years later I got a letter back from them advising that if I still wanted an appointment to ring and one would be organised in the next 18 months (needless to say i had long before gone to a private appointment about it).


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## Emiso (9 Feb 2009)

I would say that its a necessity in this country.
When it comes to an emergency, everyone is treated equally and has to go the A & E route to be admitted.

For  all other conditions a referral to a consultant through the  public system can take years to be seen and then if you need a procedure or surgery you go on a waiting list.

On the other hand if you go privately youre usually seen relatively quickly ( though some consultants private clinics have waiting times of several months) and then if you need a procedure /surgery/ hosp admission , youre seen pretty quickly.

However health insurance is mostly designed to cover in patient stays and will not necessarily reimburse you for out patient visits to consultant etc though this depends on the company and plan chosen .


I would cutback/sacrifice a lot of things before getting rid of my private health insurance


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## Emiso (9 Feb 2009)

I should also mention that when  you are going privately procedures, surgery will be carried out by your consultant whereas if you are a public patient it may be carried out by a non consultant hospital doctor ( junior doctor).


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## irishlinks (9 Feb 2009)

I thought the National Treatment Purchase Fund was supposed to get treatment for anyone (Public) waiting for more than 3 months (even if it means going to a Private hospital). My son was waiting for a scan (Public) and after about 4 months was sent to Galway Clinic to get it done (HSE paid for it).


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## lou2 (9 Feb 2009)

The National Treatment Fund may speed up getting treatment for a condition...the problem is getting diagnosed with the condition in the first place. There are huge waiting lists to be seen for certain conditions through the public system. For this reason alone I definitely wouldn't getting rid of health insurance. Just had a family member go through an operation for a fairly recently diagnosed condition. If she chose to go through the public route she would still be waiting for a first consultation...she was told she could be waiting for up to 18 months. Having the op done has made a massive difference to quality of life.


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## harvey (9 Feb 2009)

Then there's the story of the man who needed a bioposy and was told that he had to wait 3 months in a public dublin hospital for the test but utilised his private medical insurance and got an appointment within 3 days - that's the benefit of health insurance.


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## irishlinks (9 Feb 2009)

The sad thing is that people accept it and continue to pay taxes to cover the public health system and then pay more on top to get things done faster. There mist be a better way of doing things that doesn't depend on wether you can afford insurance or not.  Who will /can change it ? Why do we put up with it.?
I'm sure this debate has been done many times here before.


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## CrazyWater (9 Feb 2009)

Had a similar conversation with a colleague at work recently. In the course of the conversation my colleague happened to mention that he was given a 2.5year wait for an investigative procedure. I had had the same procedure done within a month of presentation at the GP thanks to my HI.


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## sandrat (10 Feb 2009)

my mother recently had back surgery, she was seen by consultant on monday, admitted to private hospital on the same day operated on on the friday and discharged the following monday. How many months of severe pain and sick leave would she have had to endure if she didnt have health insurance?


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## Emiso (10 Feb 2009)

I would agree that there shouldn't be a two tier system.

However I believe that we as a nation are quite apathetic about the state of our health system once it doesn't affect us directly.

For example, unless you're  a front line health care worker or have  spent needed to access services  then you probably wouldn't have a clue about the real state of our health system. 
I am a health care professional and my union continuously attempts to highlight the difficulties/inequities  in our health care system. However individual employees of the HSE would be dismissed if they spoke out about the state of our health service as this country does not have protection for whistleblowers.

A couple of years ago, a patient lobby group held a demonstration outside the Dail. Despite the fact that it was widely advertised , relatively few people turned up to protest.


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## Bergin007 (10 Feb 2009)

I think health insurance is necessary as a queue skipper.  Back in the 90's I was feeling unwell and got a chest x-ray.  It showed up some abnormalities. My GP referred me to a consultant but I had to wait 4 months to see him.  I decided to see and pay him privately and I got an appointment 2 weeks later.  He admitted me to a private hospital immediately for tests because I was in the VHI.  I was diagnosed with a cancer called Hodgkins Lymhoma.  I was then admitted to Beaumont hospital and I was treated with chemotherapy in the public section and public wards of the hospital with other public patients (even though they were charging VHI for my treatment).  My treatment/care in Beaumont hospital was excellent.  If I had waited 4 months to see the consultant publicly, the cancer would have spread extensively and the doctors told me they would not have been able to cure me.  If your health goes wrong you really really need private health insurance just to skip the queues!


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## Sherman (10 Feb 2009)

Emiso said:


> I would agree that there shouldn't be a two tier system.
> 
> However I believe that we as a nation are quite apathetic about the state of our health system once it doesn't affect us directly.
> 
> ...


 
Or it could have something to do with the fact that we have the highest paid consultants in the world, a hugely overstaffed HSE, and well-paid nurses who are lobbying for a 35 hour week...


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## scals (10 Feb 2009)

without going into details, like you, I have often questioned the need for the private cover.  theres me, hubby and 2 kids.

I was hit with something major just before christmas and am I glad for the private cover.  Just got a statement from vhi outlining what they have paid on my behalf - and this is just the start.  Its over €9k - this is hospital, surgery, tests, scans etc etc.  I've had to pay some initial consultants fees but that is only a drop in the ocean compared.

Take my advice, keep the cover.  It has made what is a very difficult situation much easier to deal with.  Not anyone might have my view but as this is a recent and ongoing situation for me, this is how I feel.


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## camel (4 Mar 2009)

Not wanting to get too personal or anything but what ages are the people recommending keeping health insurance. I'm nearly 33 and I've been seriously considering dropping it. It's about 140 quid per month (2 adults and 1 child) for me which in the current climate for me is quite a bit of cash. I would save the money if I didn't purchase HI.

I know people in their 30s and younger are also in danger of developing medical problems but I'm just not sure if the odds stack up. Anyone got any statistical info on age groups and levels of illness? Or cost per age?


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## irishlinks (4 Mar 2009)

I'm sure the insurance companies have the figures - that's why they are in the business and making millions out of it. They don't do it for nothing - just profit.


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## camel (4 Mar 2009)

Actually I though that's what risk equalisation is, i.e. VHI have lots of older patients from which they possibly don't make much money, due to higher level of claims. I don't question that they are trying to make a profit.

Anyway, I'm just wondering if anyone has any opinions on keeping HI depending on age.


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