Can I go public?.

P

PaddyW

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I had health insurance up to a number of years ago, but due to circumstances I gave it up. I had a number of operations which were covered by the insurance. As far as the doctors made me aware, all the problems were solved!

Well, it seems not. The condition has now flared up again and I reckon I will need surgery again. Can I go public? I have no health insurance now and even if I did I would not be eligible as it is a pre-existing condition. How could I go about getting public treatment and what costs would I be looking at? Thanks for your help.

Paddy
 
PaddyW said:
How could I go about getting public treatment and what costs would I be looking at?
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Go to your GP - ask to be referred to a consultant in the public system and take it from there. You will pay your GP fee. But your public appointments will be free - although there may be long waits depending on how busy that particular area is.
 
Just to give you an idea on waiting times, my aunt had surgery last year to have two benign tumors removed from her knee, if she had gone through the public system she would've had to wait 10 months for the surgery.

Good luck.
 
Thanks for the info. I don't mind a bit of a wait, it's not life threatening, just extremely painful!
 
Slim said:
Don't forget the NTPF if you're waiting more than 6 months.
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yes, i know a couple of people who have successfully used this - but I think it only applies to surgery waits - in my own experience in the public service its the wait to see a consultant thats the longest.
 
PaddyW said:
Can I pay to see a consultant privately, but get the operation publicly?
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The official answer to this is no, but I have personally done it. Consultants are not supposed to mix the public and private service but in practice some do.
 
Thanks truthseeker. Just trying to suss out my options. Don't want to be stepping on anyone's toes!
 
PaddyW said:
Thanks truthseeker. Just trying to suss out my options. Don't want to be stepping on anyone's toes!
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Maybe go back to your old consultant but let him know in the appointment that you no longer have health insurance and see what he suggests?
 
As the others have said, going publicly is pretty much free, except for the GP visits, and prescrition medication.

When in hospital, you're charged €75 per night, up to a maximum of 10 nights per year. This covers all costs involved in your treatment including the doctors, nurses, surgery, accommodation, food, etc. Medical card holders are exempt from the €75 per night charge. The Citizens Information website has info on public hospital charges [broken link removed].

The main bottleneck in the system at the moment is getting to see a consultant, as well as out-patient scans and tests. You can choose to see a consultant privately and pay for it, but your placement on the public hospital waiting list will be the same place you would have been had you seen the consultant on the public system. (I checked this with the Dept of Health and this is their official response - .) However, truthseeker's experiences seem to be different, so doctors probably take that as guidance rather than a hard and fast rule and make their own judgement calls.

The National Treamtment Purchase Fund is definitely worth considering once you've had your consultant's appointment. They look at the cases of people waiting more than 3 months for treatment. Even if they can't help you, it's no harm contacting them anyway. The website is www.ntpf.ie.

To be treated as a public patient, there's actually nothing you need to do. Once you've gone to your GP, s/he will refer you to a consultant as appropriate and from there you're in the public system.

Finally, if you're a PAYE worker, make sure to claim tax relief on the charges (GP, hospital, medication as well as consultants should you go privately).
 
NovaFlare77 said:
You can choose to see a consultant privately and pay for it, but your placement on the public hospital waiting list will be the same place you would have been had you seen the consultant on the public system.
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Novaflare77 - presumably this is only applicable where the consultant in question has a public practice - I remember seeing a consultant before who only sat privately - so I would imagine he would have no way of putting patients onto a public list for surgery?
 
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