Hi gabriellaz,
Welcome to AAM.
Sorry to hear of your work situation, the cheapest option at the moment is 1334pa(25euro per week) with VHI, details as follows;
Adult Option;
One Plan Starter; price per adult; 536pa; public hospital cover only, NO private hospital or outpatient cover.
Children's Option; reduced price applies from 22/8/2013
Parents and Kids Excess Plan; price per child; 131pa; full hospital cover (public,private + hi-tech cover), no outpatient cover.
www.hia.ie/ci/comparison/step3?299&102/
There are also the new range of Aviva Focus Plans, worth considering. Note; these plans have a restricted list of hospitals both public and
private, so if the selected hospitals suit where you live, they could be an option, depending on your overall budget.
Adult Options;
1. First Focus; price per adult; 765pa; selected list of public + private hospitals, 150private excess, no outpatient cover.
2. Day2day Focus plan; price per adult 750pa; selected list of public hospitals, no private hospital cover, day to day outpatient cover(gp etc)
www.hia.ie/ci/comparison/step3?340&339/
Children's Options;
The half price children's offer only applies to children over 5yrs, details as follows;
Family Focus plan; price per child 150pa - selected list of public + private hospitals,125 priv excess, day to day outpatient cover (gp 30x4 visits
etc).
www.hia.ie/ci/comparison/step3?343/
If one of your children is under 5 yrs, the following option is a good alternative;
Level 2 Family Health; price per child; 215pa - full hospital cover (public,private+hi-tech cover) no outpatient cover.
www.hia.ie/ci/comparison/step3?248/
The restricted hospital lists for public and private hospitals can be checked out as follows;
www.avivahealth.ie/focus-plans/just-enough-plans/?focus=first
www.avivahealth.ie/focus-plans/just-enough-plans/?focus=day2day
www.avivahealth.ie/focus-plans/just-enough-plans/?focus=family
All children's hospitals are public anyway, so their cover wouldn't be affected overall, it's choosing what level of cover you want for yourself and your husband, based on your new reduced budget.
Regarding downgrading cover to just public or restricted private cover, if you want to upgrade in a few years time, you would serve a waiting
time of 2 years for the extra cover only, in respect of any pre-existing conditions only at that stage.
You have a further 14 days after 22/8/2013 to consider your options before making a final decision.
If you have any further questions or if you need further explanations, that's no problem.
Regards, Snowyb