josh8267,
No, you just have until 14th November 2019 to make a final decision for the year ahead.
VHI don't allow you to change to another VHI plan during the year. Laya and Irish Life do allow changing policies mid-year.
Just to clarify, you could switch to plan PMI 07 10 yourself, and your wife could switch to PMI 38 14.
You don't have to be on the same plan as your wife, if you choose.
That option is open to you, to make more savings.
To explain briefly, the differences in cover between PMI 38 14 and PMI 07 10.
1. Excess Amount; PMI 38 14 has no excess payment involved. An excess payment means if you are admitted to a private or hi-tech hospital
for a stay or for a day case procedure, you pay an agreed amount. This is only paid on admission to hospital, it is NOT a nightly charge. There is
no excess to pay in any public hospital on any plan.
PMI 07 10 has a capped excess for all private and hi-tech hospital admissions in a year. The excess payment is capped at 150 euro max for the
whole year, regardless of how many times you are admitted to private or hi-tech hospitals. The day case excess charge on PMI 07 10 is 50 euro
per procedure in private or hi-tech hospitals.
2. Hospital Cover; The only difference between the two plans is that PMI 07 10 plan does not cover Whitfield Private hospital Waterford and
Kingsbridge hospital Sligo. All other hospitals are covered on both plans including Galway Clinic. There is no waiting time involved as hospital
cover is same as before.
3. Day to day Medical Expenses; PMI 38 14 gives a refund of 75% for gp visits, etc and 130 euro refund for consultant visits.
PMI 07 10 gives a refund of 50% for consultant, gp visits etc.
4. Radiology Scans (MRI, CT, etc) PMI 38 14 covers 75% of costs upto 1000 per year.
PMI 07 10 covers 50% of costs upto 500 per year.
Lastly, a few of my own family members were on Company Plan Extra Level 2 and similar level plans for years. They are really good plans but
the extra cover is worth it if you actually use it. PMI 07 10 plan is a fairly new plan on the market, so when it was launched I recommended it to
my own family and they are happily on it ever since.
If you have any other questions or concerns, ask away.
Regards, Snowyb