Health Insurance Public Hospital Insurance only. Why pay for Private Hospital

[cronley]

My VHI renewal is 21/01/2015. Currently on Health Access - cost €1460 per adult. I am considering switching to a plan, VHI or others, that covers me for Public Hospitals only - i.e. dropping Private Hospitals completely. I am not concerned about Private room. Happy with semi private or ward accommodation. I just want faster access to a public hospital than you would get, if you had no health insurance policy. My view is for stuff like cardiac tests, cancer tests & scans, colonoscopy, hip replacement - with a Public Hospital only policy -would I get access for this stuff as fast in a public hospital as I would in a Private Hospital, if I had a policy for Private hospitals. In a nutshell, I am only concerned about speed of access & not about the type of accommodation. Why should I pay for a Private hospital policy. I am 63.
I thought acommodation & consultants charges in Public & Private hospitals were roughly the same for Insurers. Why do insurers charge more if you want cover for private hospitals - dont they pay out much the same, whether I use a public or private hospital.

 

[moneybox]

I would also be very interested in the answer to this question. I have often read if you are ill it's better to be in a public hospital because that is where all the expertise is. I wouldn't worry about having fancy private room etc as long as I have the best medical care .

 

[odyssey06]

If you are concerned with "elective" surgery, better to have private hospital cover I think... in public hospitals, these are often cancelled, at least that's what I'm reading in the newspapers - but maybe that refers to public procedures in a public hospital and not private ones.