VHI Good Cover Mater Private Dublin

T

taytoman

Registered User
Messages
251
I am with currently renewing my health insurance. I am looking for a plan that provides good cover for the mater private as it is the closest private hospital to me. Can anyone suggest a plan that provides good cover for the mater private which is roughly in the region of €1000 per annum. VHI company plan PMI 41 15 seems to have full cover for unspecified "special procedures" in this hospital, whereas Laya have an excess of €200 per night for most of their plans.
 
Hi taytoman,

What is your renewal date? and what plan are you on at the moment?
Just to note the Mater Private hospital is classed as a 'hi-tech' hospital for health insurance purposes and is not 'fully covered' across the board
for PMI 41 15. There is full cover for cardiac and orthopaedic surgery with this plan. There is also a list of special procedures covered under this plan which VHI don't publish. If your particular surgery code number is on the list, there is just the 75 euro excess payable. If it is not on the list, you pay the 75 excess + 260 per night.
Mater Private also have a waiver system as a concession where they don't pass the shortfall charge onto the patient, for certain types of surgery.
Orthopaedic and cataract surgery are definitely on this concession list, and others which are a grey area. They have a helpful phoneline 01 8858856
to clarify cover, if you know the procedure code or type of surgery.
VHI Plan PMI 41 15 is a very good option - it cost 1152 upto and including 1 Jan 2016 but will increase in price to 1254 from 2 Jan 2016.

Regards, Snowyb
 
Snowyb
Thank you for your very detailed and very comprehensive response. You have explained things very well. Quick question-is there a VHI company plan that is cheaper than PMI 41 15 but has equivalent inpatient cover?
 
Plan PMI 41 15 has a day case excess of 50 euro per private/hi tech day case visit.
Any cheaper plans would have a slightly higher day case excess and either similar or higher inpatient private excess.
Inpatient cover would be identical in the following plans the only slight difference is the excess amount.
1. Plan PMI 35 13; price 1238
2. Plan PMI 36 13; price 1247
Outpatient cover is identical to PMI 41 15 on the above 2 plans.

If outpatient cover is not required, Plan PMI 37 13, price 1079pa, is a good alternative. There is very limited outpatient cover on this plan.
Inpatient cover is the same as PMI 41 15, excess 100 per visit.

[broken link removed]

Snowyb
 
I am yet another one totally confused by health cover and based on this post I am moving towards PMI 4115

Later this month my present policy: Company Plan Extra Level 3 will expire – The cost of this was €1480,99 Net

Those lovely people [sic] at VHI wrote to me in December to advise me that they were no longer continuing with Company Plan Extra Level 3 and that they will “kindly” and automatically upgrade my policy to Company Plan Extra Level 2 at a net cost of €1712.04

I find this a little steep to be honest and have been searching the myriad of policies on the HEA site…I’m a little peeved that it does not let me compare what was on my old policy to any potential new ones

I think about my health care a lot ( Single male – mid forties – no issues except surgery and physio a few years ago)

I’m both a squeamish and private person so a private room would be important to me. Can anybody explain what the term “Semi Private Rate” means when the HEA site references “Private Room Private Hospital” ?

I am happy to stay with VHI as I am only a quarter of the way through one of their linked MultiTrip policies and have like the idea of access to their SwiftCare Clinics which I found very efficient when I had to use one a few years ago.

If I switch to PM4115 it will cost me much less at 1254.39 and I take a small gamble with what seem to be reasonable hospital excess charges of €50 and if I do need consultants fees which is one of the main differences they are potentially covered in my €458 saving

Maybe I’m wrong but I just can’t see the advantage of being quasi forced into Company Plan Extra Level 2 at €1712

Hoping somebody can confirm my rationale…or advise of another plan around my budgeted €1500 which may have additional potential benefits – I’ve just totally confused myself by looking at PM 22 11 which costs €1557
 
Last edited:
Hi ThanksInAdvance,

Welcome to AAM. If you want an identical plan to Company Plan Extra level 3, the cheapest alternative option is called 'PMI 05 11' price 1577pa.
I have included Company Plan Extra Level 2 in the following comparison as your current plan is not available to compare, both plans were identical.
[broken link removed]

If you want a similar plan, including a private/hi-tech excess, a better option than PMI 22 11, is called Plan PMI 25 11 price 1502pa.
Same as your current plan in every respect, with a hospital excess 75 per private/hi-tech admission or per day case.
[broken link removed]

The VHI plan PMI 41 15 price 1254pa is a good plan that ticks all the boxes, except cover for a private room in a private hospital.
Semi private rate means that they will cover you upto the price of a semi-private room and you pay the balance if you want a private room in
a private hospital. This balance could cost 300+ per night depending on the hospital involved. So PMI 41 15 may not suit you for that reason.
It depends if a private room in a private hospital is a deal breaker or not.
The cover you have at the moment includes a private room in a private hospital if you pay 50euro per night. All the above recommendations
include similar cover for a private room in a private hospital with a 50 per night excess.

I appreciate that VHI is your first preference, just to mention that Laya are very competitive on price, including full cover for a private room in a private hospital, as follows;

1. Simplicity Plan; price 1044pa; public, private(including private room) and hi-tech hospital cover, max hospital excess 100 x 2 per year, good day to day cover 100 excess.
[broken link removed]

Again, I compared with Company Plan Extra Level 2 which is identical to your current plan.
Hope this explains things a little clearer.

Regards, Snowyb
 
Wow, thanks Snowyb !

Have quite a lot to study there but have to say on initial perusal I am leaning towards The Simplicity Plan from Laya

Even if I have to change Travel Insurance costing me about €60 that comes out of a €532 saving versus VHI's 0511 and I see this saving as an "eventuality fund" to cover what are reasonable excess amounts in the instance of any unfortunate Out Patient visits / VHI Swiftcare Visits (which obviously only come into play if needed)

Not sure what Consultants fee's are on average as Simplicity covers 50% as opposed to a set €100 on VHI but presume they are a €200 average...

Have a little bit of homework to do over the next night or two and will report back when decision is made

Thanks Again
 
Update :

After many years loyalty to VHI I switched to the Laya Simplicity plan @ €1044 you recommended.

In comparison to the VHI plans it really is a no brainer - it has private room coverage and very good day to day cover

One piece of advice I would give to others is to drill down into the excess amounts - and relate them to any savings versus potential exposure

I have the peace of mind of good coverage and I am making what I believe to be a circa €700 saving and for some elements I am actually getting better coverage.

My main catalyst for changing and doing so much research was an annoyance with the VHI automatically changing me to a more expensive "equivalent" plan and was further annoyed that when I went to cancel the plan by phone I was given what I would call a gentle scaremongering by their representative "other plans don't have as many consultants or as good of care for cancer etc etc" ( I really did not appreciate this ) I might even start a separate thread to see if it's a common practice of theirs....

( even subsequent to that I received an email from VHI confirming my new policy....again I had to phone up and cancel the policy and organise a refund)

My VHI Multitrip is still valid despite leaving them as I have a required minimum of cover on the new Laya plan

Thanks again Snowyb for what was great advice
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top