Health Insurance Health Insurance advice for someone accustomed to NHS free healthcare

Forsa has a very cosy arrangement with brokers. The brokers / financial services companies pay for advertisements in the union magazine often citing discounts for union members. Often the price union members get is more expensive than if you went direct to the insurer (i.e. car insurance) or has been said earlier have their own vested interests e.g. Cornmarket promoting Irish Life policies.
 
Smaug~~°w°~~ said:
You can be sure that both insurers and the HSE are not going to fork out for unapproved chemo/experimental treatment.....
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I am not talking about unapproved or experimental treatment but, as stated,

SGWidow said:
…..a new drug which is covered by the health systems in other European countries but not in Ireland
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I may have to set up another thread to explain this in greater detail.
 
SGWidow said:
I am not talking about unapproved or experimental treatment but, as stated,
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You did say...
SGWidow said:
The problem is that the HSE can be very slow in approving these drugs so there can be a gap between what the oncologist recommends and what the state supports.
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If it's approved everywhere but in Ireland then it's 'unapproved' here. There's no way to 'insure' for a treatment that is unapproved in the state. It would have be assessed by the HSE or a private health insurer and, as I said before, it would probably be done on a case by case basis to begin with before the treatment/drug would be widely available and become 'approved'.
Ring a couple of health insurers and ask for clarification.
 
No - it is not unapproved here. Doctors prescribe such drugs to those you can afford it. It's just that it is not approved for reimbursement purposes by the HSE which is different. Do you understand the difference between the two approvals? If yes, your last post was not helpful imo.

Again, as I said before, I may have to set up another thread to explain this in more detail.
 
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Terribly sorry my post was not helpful iyo. When I say "approved" I mean both for medical use and reimbursement - I did mention the drug payment scheme and how getting an 'unapproved' drug 'approved' works.
I don't know of any health insurer here that covers prescription drugs but hospital treatments are different so check your cover with your health insurer.
 
dereko1969 said:
To the OP I'm wondering would you be better off going for a minimal scheme here as you are likely to retain eligibility to the NHS service in Derry?
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Smaug~~°w°~~ said:
I'd agree and comparisons should be done regardless of the level. Also the 2% loading doesn't start till you're over 34.
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A few people have asked me why I didn't just keep my doctor up North, but surely I cant expect to avail of the perks of NHS services whilst living here in the South permanently? It would be different if I was only planning to live here for a short period, but in this case it is my intention to live in the South for the long-term foreseeable future. Perhaps I would be well within my rights to stay with the NHS having paid national insurance contributions and taxes in the UK for a number of years, but I just would be worried about the legalities of that approach. I would hate to get caught out, particularly as I'm a government employee.
 
I am still considering the mid/corporate level range of plans. I recently had to get my first prescription for migraine medication since living here in the South, and got quite a shock when I realized it was going to cost me €20 having previously been used to getting this same medication for free up North. So I definitely think a plan that includes refunds of day-to-day medical expenses would be helpful.

I was wondering is there any health insurance schemes that would typically be used by local authorities or public service staff / FORSA members? Can I ask, are there any health insurance schemes that allow deduction at source so that the money is already taken out of my wages before they reach me? It would also be good to know if there was a scheme that allowed tax relief at source so that I wouldn't need to worry about claiming tax back via filing a tax return each year.
 

I would be quite surprised if any of the day-to-day expenses cover medication costs. AFAIK you will only get tax relief at 20%. VHI definitely don't cover standard medications.

The tax relief can be claimed quite easily through a full mygovid.ie account. You only need to keep your receipts carefully in the event of an audit. The tax relief at source sounds as if it would be an administrative nightmare scenario for Revenue.
 
is the OP referring to tax relief for the VHI / Laya / etc., insurance premium?
 
Thirsty said:
is the OP referring to tax relief for the VHI / Laya / etc., insurance premium?
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The tax relief for the insurance premium is allowed at source for some years now. They are most likely referring to claiming for their day-to-day expenses such as G.P./Consultants visits etc.
 
Thirsty said:
is the OP referring to tax relief for the VHI / Laya / etc., insurance premium?
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Sue Ellen said:
The tax relief for the insurance premium is allowed at source for some years now. They are most likely referring to claiming for their day-to-day expenses such as G.P./Consultants visits etc.
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I did indeed mean tax relief at source for the insurance premium itself, so are you saying this is standard with all schemes from each provider or would I have to specifically request tax relief at source? Additionally, do all the providers allow deduction at source or is monthly direct debit the only option? Is health insurance like car insurance where it is cheaper to pay in one annual lump sum, or is it the same price regardless even if paid in installments across the year?
 
I'm covered via employer benefit and always have been, so I've never had occasion to delve into these sorts of questions; I did wonder why you didn't check out the websites of the various providers and get the answers there.

I've just had a look at the VHI one - and I see now why you are having to post here! It's pretty light on actual information that you might need.

I can't answer for all providers, I only have experience with VHI.

You can have the premium deducted from your salary and it's paid net of tax relief; this would be up to your employer, but I'm pretty sure most (all?) major employers will facilitate.

There's no additional charge for making monthly payments either from salary or dd. From the VHI website they say some discount is possible for the dental plans, but I don't think there's any other discount to be had for paying in full upfront.

There is product called the Hospital Saturday Fund which I think provides more day-to-day cover, but I don't have any direct experience of it.

Some OTC meds are cheaper in NI - so stock up when you are visiting.
 
slightly off topic but other than free GP care, what does the NHS provide that the public system here doesn't? I know some of the waiting lists for certain procedures are quite bad here, but that's the case in the NHS as well, right?
 
Protocol said:
Irish Life own Cornmarket brokers.
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Correct, but for the purposes of insurance they are not tied. They've a long history with all of the big players, not just Irish Life.
They actually hired Dermot Goode for a time, so they do have a team who provides similar services. Dermot is your man if you just want someone to do the digging on your behalf.
 
shweeney said:
slightly off topic but other than free GP care, what does the NHS provide that the public system here doesn't? I know some of the waiting lists for certain procedures are quite bad here, but that's the case in the NHS as well, right?
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Prescriptions - there is a flat rate per prescription. Most insurance policies won't cover this, but some now will give you a portion back for up to a certain amount. Consider also if there are a lot of prescriptions in the family that there is a Drugs Payment Scheme Card to which everyone is eligible (but you must formally apply) which covers all prescription costs over 124 euros in a calendar month if they exceed this cumulatively.
 
shweeney said:
slightly off topic but other than free GP care, what does the NHS provide that the public system here doesn't? I know some of the waiting lists for certain procedures are quite bad here, but that's the case in the NHS as well, right?
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RoI has four fees:

(1) GP fees - paid for by taxes in UK NHS
(2) ED fee 100 euro - paid for by taxes in UK NHS
(3) Hosp overnight fee 80 euro - paid for by taxes in UK NHS
(4) pharma prescriptions - varies between NI / Eng / Scot / Wales - I think GBP 7 in England
 
Those are the main differences in payments/fees.

However, another difference is in waiting times

NHS waiting target = 18 weeks

HSE waiting target = increased by Varadkar from 15 months to 18 months

Leo Varadkar targets 15-month waiting limit for treatment

Health minister’s HSE priorities list for 2015 includes National Maternity Hospital plans
www.irishtimes.com

This is why people buy health insurance!!!
 

re (3) - isn't there a limit on how much you'll be billed for in the public system here?

I think the only real benefit to health insurance is being able to access the private hospital system. The day-to-day benefits will never cover the cost of the premium unless you're really unlucky. It's a bit of a vicious circle - the 2 tier system encourages people to get PHI and then they resist any attempts to tackle to the 2 tier system.

https://giphy.com/3o6Mb93fBYIaCk4Ez6
 
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