Health Insurance Medical Consultants costs, any recent experiences

Palerider

Registered User
Messages
1,500
I was referred on for review of a recurring patch of eczema to a medical consultant who has rooms in a private hospital, in my case this was a referral to a dermatologist. The eczema does not bother me at all, it is a small area, tiny actually and goes away but does recur. I thought sure it would do no harm, I have Laya, I was called today with a cancellation which I accepted, before the secretary got off the phone she told me the consultation would be €230, I told her I would not be attending, I felt this was bordering on extortion and can of course get a referral through the slower HSE route, I am a non urgent referral.

I did attend a medical Consultant in 2016 and paid him €180 for what turned out to be a minor issue, with a new year upon us I am curious if anybody else has received a recent medical consultant appointment and the charges.

I am aware AAM does not allow discussion of medical issues, I outlined my referral to give background, please don't comment back on anything other than your experience of medical consultants costs.

In my opinion as a consumer we need to shop around, €230 is unacceptable to me for a first consultation.
 
220 for initial dermatologist consultation in private hospital... followons may be cheaper
 
palerider,

There was a similar discussion on AAM recently.
http://www.askaboutmoney.com/threads/dermatologists-costs-crazy.200691/

I heard that dermatologists are one of the scarce consultant specialties, like neurologists.
Not enough per population, so they would have extra workloads etc.
They can name their price due to demand, it doesn't justify the cost.

Snowyb

I paid €280 for a first visit with a neurologist 12 month ago, €200 for rheumatologist and €160 for an Ortho. The follows ups were all much cheaper (€180, €150 and €120 iirc)
 
Remember you can claim this as a med1 expense at 20%. If you have medical insurance you may be entitled to claim some money back as a day to day medical expense - if you do so, you can still claim the remaining amount on the med1.
 
Most consultants I have seen over the years average out at about 200 for the first visit and a bit cheaper for any follow up. It's seldom a case of having to have more than one or two follow ups. IMO it's generally good value for money to get an expert who will diagnose and suggest cures quickly rather than going to a GP a few times to try and nail it down through trial and error. It is a science trying to diagnose the body as they can't just start checking the engine like a car and narrow it down quickly. I have health insurance which usually gives me a 50% return on receipt and as stated above I can claim a further 20% of the residue from revenue so total paid for 200 is 80. I accept that this is not relevant to someone not working or who just don't have the outlay up front.
 
Most consultants I have seen over the years average out at about 200 for the first visit and a bit cheaper for any follow up. It's seldom a case of having to have more than one or two follow ups. IMO it's generally good value for money to get an expert who will diagnose and suggest cures quickly rather than going to a GP a few times to try and nail it down through trial and error. It is a science trying to diagnose the body as they can't just start checking the engine like a car and narrow it down quickly. I have health insurance which usually gives me a 50% return on receipt and as stated above I can claim a further 20% of the residue from revenue so total paid for 200 is 80. I accept that this is not relevant to someone not working or who just don't have the outlay up front.
Paid 250 for first consultation with dermatologist in Limerick having waited almost 6 months. Would have been about 4 mths but I had to move the initial appointment date. Dread to think how long the wait would have been in public system. 150 for subsequent appointments.
 
I paid €200 for a first consultation in Vincents Private 2 years ago and then €100 for each visit after. I felt I had no choice at the time as my GP felt he was not qualified to manage my condition effectively and it needed a specialists attention. It was either pay that and be seen in 3 months or wait a year on a public list. Fortunately my health insurance pays €100 per consultant visit so that took the sting out of it.
 
I paid €180 for a one off visit to an optical consultant in the Blackrock Clinic in November 2016.
 
My father has appointment tomorrow with consultant in Co Kerry, €130 for first appointment.
 
Did you enquire into the consultant's speciality or level of expertise? Some consultants are top of their field and charge accordingly. Others may have just been appointed consultants and while still experienced doctors, have not built up that reputation.

If you went to court and hired a Senior Counsel, would you expect them to reduce their rates because it was only a minor traffic incident?

Steven
[broken link removed]
 
If you are asking me this question, this is a long established consultant, highly experienced and specialising in the area we are looking for.
 
Did you enquire into the consultant's speciality or level of expertise? Some consultants are top of their field and charge accordingly. Others may have just been appointed consultants and while still experienced doctors, have not built up that reputation.

If you went to court and hired a Senior Counsel, would you expect them to reduce their rates because it was only a minor traffic incident?

Steven
[broken link removed]


This Consultant is established. I am no expert to judge one against another, to me once my GP makes the referral I accept their credentials to get the job done. I would have thought to get to the level that they work for the HSE and have rooms at a private hospital that they have been around for a while and well established.

Your reference to the legal profession is not relevant and out of the context to my initial post.

I appreciate the responses provided, I think it gives readers an idea of the charges across a spectrum of medical Consultants, as said before as consumers I think it is important to assess charges and challenge where these seem out of kilter with reality, in my opinion €230+ is ridiculous for what I would anticipate would be a five or ten minute consultation in my case anyway.
 
Back
Top