The VHI One Plan 500 covers all public and private hospitals, so a cheaper plan would have a restricted list of public and private hospitals.
Its probably still the best value option as it has a capped excess of 500 x 2 max per year for all private hospital admissions.
VHI Smart Plan 500 costs 722pa but you would need to check the list of hospitals covered to make sure they suit his location.
Whether its actually worth losing so many hospital options to save 40 euro is something to weigh up.
The excess of 500 applies to every admission to a private hospital, it is not capped like One Plan 500.