Health Insurance Alternative to VHI Health Plus Platinum

[AlanMac]

Hi all,

My wife's parents (he 82, she 76) have been insured with VHI Health Plus Platinum, or previous equivalents), for as long as they can remember. I'm concerned that they are getting extremely poor value for money, and have finally managed to overcome their fear of changing. Their big fear is losing cover at a time in their lives when they might need it more than ever. What plan will save them the most money without compromising cover? I've considered the plan I'm on myself, Laya Simplicity - the only downside to me seems to be the €50 outpatient charge, as he sees a consultant for eye injections every 6 weeks - i.e. 9 times a year. Thanks in advance.

 

[snowyb]

AlanMac,

The following plans with Laya Healthcare have equivalent hospital cover, the only difference between them is the day to day cover.
1. Empower Connect(No Excess); price 3690pa; same hospital cover, limited day to day cover.
2. Empower Create(No Excess); price 3803pa; same hospital cover, good day to day cover, 1 euro excess.
3. Empower Secure(No Excess); price 3878pa; same hospital cover, excellent day to day cover, 1 euro excess.
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Note; The extra day to day cover on 2 + 3 above is covered straight away - there is no waiting time with Laya for extra day to day cover regardless of a persons age.

The following plans have the same cover as before, with one exception, shared ward in Mater Private, some with extra day to day cover.
Note Blackrock Clinic have no shared wards, all single private rooms as standard.

1. VHI Healthplus Premium(Plan D); price 3530pa; same cover as before except shared ward in Mater Private. Limited day to day cover.
2. VHI Company Plan Executive; price 3608pa; same cover as before except shared ward in Mater Private, good day to day cover, 1 euro excess.
3. VHI PMI 34 13; price 4253pa; same cover as before except shared ward in Mater Private, exceptional day to day cover, 1 euro excess.
4. Irish Life Health Plan 09; price 4099pa; Same cover as before except shared ward in Mater Private, good day to day cover, 1 euro excess.
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Note; With VHI, there is a 2 year waiting time applied for extra day to day cover for people over 65 years. They would stay on their current day to day cover(plan E) while waiting. You never lose cover while waiting, you stay on the same section of cover you're on, until the 2 year waiting time is served, just in respect of day to day cover.
Note; With Irish Life Health(formerly Aviva) there is a 26 week waiting applied for the extra day to day cover for over 55 yrs.


Regarding Laya Simplicity Plan, price 1087pa, even with 9 outpatient eye visits per year - this would amount to 450. This is still a lot cheaper overall than 5098 per person. There is a max inpatient hospital excess of 100 x 2 admissions per year. There is good day to day cover, with
the first 100 not allowed. Depending on the type of hospital they would most likely attend and what health issues affect them, if any, this
plan is well worth considering. The above 2 lists of plans would cover unlimited admissions and access to the hi-tech hospitals.
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There are a number of alternative options worth considering with plenty of savings without compromising on cover.

Regards, Snowyb