Healthcare costs - not insurance Cross Border Directive, Medical Card, etc?

BoardsieKKV

Registered User
Messages
11
Hi Folks,

Probably asking a question that no one may know the answer to here, but figured there'd be no harm asking, as I don't really know much/anything about the HSE or general healthcare system in Ireland as a whole. (I had a medical card growing up, but it was taken off me when I started working and making more than the income limit, about 5 years ago).

Other than swinging into my GP to moan about things once or twice a year, I have no other direct experience with the HSE.

So effectively, I'm very overweight, always have been. I could pad out a paragraph or two with my efforst but i'll leave it as "i've tried the usual stuff". So I'm looking at Bariatric surgery (a surgery called Gastric Sleeve, where they cut a big bit of your belly off, thus reducing the amount you can eat).

It seems the HSE do offer this surgery in St. Collumcilles Hospital in south dublin, and it appears that your GP can refer you to the HSE for it. Alternatively, I can fly to Turkey and have it done for €3k (+ flight costs).


What I'm looking to find out, is, if i were to go to my GP and get referred to this, my reading online says the HSE will want you to attend 10 appointments in the Collumcilles hospital over the course of 12 months, at which point you get referred to surgery (which you'll presumably wait years for, or use the Cross-Border Directive to find somewhere in the EU to do instead and get a HSE refund).

What Im trying to figure out is am i better off paying the 3k + flights and getting on with it and just flying to turkey, or am i better off getting the referral from my GP to the HSE, do the appointments etc. and wait for them to point me in the direction of surgery. My primary concern being "how much will that cost" - I know I pay my GP per visit, but is there a cost to the other 10 appointments in the HSE/collumcilles, is there a charge for surgery etc.? Or is it a case of "you're an irish citizen, in ireland, and even though you've no medical card you qualify for free healthcare"?

For what its worth, my BMI is 45, so im fatter than the HSE "require" me to be, to be considered obese and eligible for surgery.

Sorry for this mess of a thread, I appreciate it's a bit all-over-the-place, but I'm unsure how to better write it as I'm genuinely clueless to the HSE way of doing things.


Cheers.
 
Be aware - these cross border directives do not repay at all
I have experience with them directly and many others too, have never been reimbursed
 
Hi KKV, fair play for looking into this. Private health insurance (VHI, Laya, etc.) will usually cover this if you have it.

Even if you don't have VHI/Laya, have you looked into self-pay pricing for private hospitals in Ireland? There are several experienced surgeons in hospitals around Ireland.

I would be cautious about getting surgery done abroad. If you have any complications afterwards you may find it difficult to get sorted.
 
It sounds like what you're asking is the 'public' charge to you if you go through the HSE. So, the GP charge for referral will be whatever the standard cost of the GP is to you: it won't cost any more for them to do the referral, and I don't think you'd have any reason to go back to them about this.

Appointments with the service shouldn't have any other additional charge. Its like any consultant you see through referral: if its deemed you need the care/treatment, you won't pay. There is a charge for in-patient procedures however: 80 euro a night up to a total of 800/year. Beyond that no charge. Also, all these charges, GP and hospital, you can get a refund on 20% through your tax return assuming you keep the receipts and are in employment.

So, basically, if its ten appointments that just standard, you go and meet with a specialist/nurse/dietitian etc etc, you won't pay for those. When it comes to the. surgery, you'll pay 80/night for every night you're admitted.

I would personally get the ball rolling on a referral, the waiting lists are awful but I have had great treatment through public healthcare in this country. When you get to the service, it is often excellent.
 
Hi folks,

OP Here. So I contacted the HSE and talked to them fairly briefly about it, but got the general gist of how it runs (or is supposed to, anyway - time will tell). So I went to my GP for a referral letter. Letter couldn't be generic, needed to be to a named Doctor/consultant elsewhere. In my case, Prague (within the EU).

From what I understand, now that I have a letter referring me to a Doctor outside of the country, I no longer have to engage with the HSE at all. However, to satisfy the HSE, i do have to have a consultation with the Doctor/surgeon on a date prior to the actual surgery (this can be, however, literally the day beforehand, as far as I know). After all is said and done, I simply send my receipts/paperwork to the HSE and they will refund me the cost of the surgery and other costs up to X amount (they won't cover things like flights, etc. or if I opt to extend my break away in a hotel etc. obviously).

So time will tell. I'll report back with an update when all is said and done (could be 6 months before I'm in a hospital, and the HSE say they pay out 30 working days after getting your receipts, so could be a while before i have an actual "end" to the story and can give all the relevant details, but fingers crossed it goes well.
 
Hi. Do you have to show that there is a waiting list for the procedure in Ireland? Did the HSE check the code for your procedure and confirm that the procedure is covered and for how much? Just recalling the bureaucracy I encountered in my son's wisdom tooth extraction in Northern Ireland.
 
I'll be honest, Slim, they never mentioned either. I spoke briefly with the HSE Cross Border lady on the phone, but it seemed like none of that matters/mattered. I got the impression that i'd just have to tick a few boxes which are all just in terms of the referral from my GP and the Dr. in the other country filling in a few HSE forms.

There was never a mention of waiting lists or codes. Perhaps things have changed, or perhaps the girl I was speaking with was just indifferent and wanted me off the phone.
 
Probably has changed since we did it. Run with it and best of luck with the procedure.
 
Hi Folks,

Probably asking a question that no one may know the answer to here, but figured there'd be no harm asking, as I don't really know much/anything about the HSE or general healthcare system in Ireland as a whole. (I had a medical card growing up, but it was taken off me when I started working and making more than the income limit, about 5 years ago).

Other than swinging into my GP to moan about things once or twice a year, I have no other direct experience with the HSE.

So effectively, I'm very overweight, always have been. I could pad out a paragraph or two with my efforst but i'll leave it as "i've tried the usual stuff". So I'm looking at Bariatric surgery (a surgery called Gastric Sleeve, where they cut a big bit of your belly off, thus reducing the amount you can eat).

It seems the HSE do offer this surgery in St. Collumcilles Hospital in south dublin, and it appears that your GP can refer you to the HSE for it. Alternatively, I can fly to Turkey and have it done for €3k (+ flight costs).


What I'm looking to find out, is, if i were to go to my GP and get referred to this, my reading online says the HSE will want you to attend 10 appointments in the Collumcilles hospital over the course of 12 months, at which point you get referred to surgery (which you'll presumably wait years for, or use the Cross-Border Directive to find somewhere in the EU to do instead and get a HSE refund).

What Im trying to figure out is am i better off paying the 3k + flights and getting on with it and just flying to turkey, or am i better off getting the referral from my GP to the HSE, do the appointments etc. and wait for them to point me in the direction of surgery. My primary concern being "how much will that cost" - I know I pay my GP per visit, but is there a cost to the other 10 appointments in the HSE/collumcilles, is there a charge for surgery etc.? Or is it a case of "you're an irish citizen, in ireland, and even though you've no medical card you qualify for free healthcare"?

For what its worth, my BMI is 45, so im fatter than the HSE "require" me to be, to be considered obese and eligible for surgery.

Sorry for this mess of a thread, I appreciate it's a bit all-over-the-place, but I'm unsure how to better write it as I'm genuinely clueless to the HSE way of doing things.


Cheers.
Although I know Turkey has some good hospitals, there was some rite horror stories on a TV programme recently and the UK health board having to fix it
 
Hi Clementine,

Welcome to AAM.

Unfortunately the OP has not logged in since 5th August, 2021 so may not see your question :(

S.E.
 
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