# Brendan's Funny Views on VHI



## Brendan Burgess (10 May 2004)

I heard the Boss today advising healthy and younger listeners to ditch their VHI covers, thankfully on 106fm where not too many people were listening. I find it hard to understand how this could be regarded as responsible advice - what if one of the kids or young parents in a family got a very bad disease?

Winning the theoretical argument about self insurance doesn't mean winning in the real world


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## Brendan Burgess (10 May 2004)

*Re: Brendan's Funny Views*

Hi Sal

It's been debated at length 

Brendan


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## darag (10 May 2004)

*it's not that funny*

i'm with brendan on this.  i canceled my bupa plan last year after observing what happened to a friend with no health insurance who got appendicitis last year.  they were promptly treated.  it cost them around 40 quid.  horror of horrors, they had to share a ward with hoi polloi.   in the vast majority of cases,  this is the only difference in treatment between the insured and the uninsured for non-elective hospitalization and i'm not that fussy.  when i'm sixty, i'll buy the top health insurance plan which will ensure i get good value subsidised by the under 40s.

nor do i bother paying 4 quid a month to insure a 39 euro mobile phone.


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## Tommy (10 May 2004)

*Re: it's not that funny*

The rationale for VHI/BUPA was never (or at least it never should have been) the possibility of emergency hospitalization, for conditions such as appendicitis but for elective surgery and treatments that can take forever to take place if you are on a public waiting list. I know of one man who died at 52 years old after spending 3 years waiting for cardiac treatment. When his turn came around, the doctors told him his condition was too far advanced for surgery to be of any use. He died about 3 months later. He could have afforded VHI or Bupa subs.


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## rainyday (10 May 2004)

*Re: it's not that funny*

Darag - I've moved your comments to the . Can we keep all discussion to that thread please?

Thanks.


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