Health Insurance Health insurance renewal.

D

DirectDevil

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I have LAYA ConnectCare100 which is up for renewal at year's end.

Generally, the balance of cover meets my overall needs but prices just seem to be still going North (all insurers - not just Laya) thanks additionally to the government levy.

I requested them to send me a list of nearest products they offer with similar prices and cover. I do this every year and have made good savings by switching products within LAYA for virtually identical cover.

For 2016 I am looking at other insurers for alternative quotes and used the HIA comparison system which is very helpful. The choice of products on the open market is bewildering.

I am also playing devil's advocate with myself and wondering if I should bother with private cover at all. Over the last 2 years I had a number of attendances as a public out-patient and found the service to be slow but very good - maybe I was lucky !

The only thing that makes me reluctant to leave private health insurance is the fear that if we ever see UHI I could find myself with cover imposed on me and quite possibly at higher rates than if I still soldier on. Am I being too pessimistic or is it worth sticking with private health cover if at all possible ?
 
Given a choice, I wouldn't opt out of private health cover. If money was tight or if I was having second thoughts about paying X amount every year
while maybe not getting much use from it, I would certainly consider switching plans to; for example Flex 500 Explore 661pa. This would keep all the previous options open, at a much reduced cost, without shooting myself in the foot and leaving altogether. It would also mean re-serving waiting times if you decided to rejoin at a later stage.

The recent experiences you had in the public system were in the outpatient dept, which is straightforward enough. But, I think if you required surgery it would be a completely different story. The standard wait for the likes of a cataract or hip replacement operation at the moment in the public system, is a minimum 2 years. I have personal experience of this recently with relatives. The cataract surgery wait time in a private hospital is 4 months. There may have been earlier wait times available but a particular consultant was preferred, so it was 4 months.

An alternative option worth considering with Laya, is Simply Connect price 999pa. Private hospital excess 150 for 2 admissions only, any extra admissions after that are free. Outpatient cover capped at 300pa. Low outpatient excess 50 for private or hi-tech hospitals.
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I'm sure you'll pick out something to suit your needs both healthwise and pricewise for another year.

Regards, Snowyb
 
Thanks for starting the thread. I'm returning from UK and looking into Health Insurance. It's quite simply frightening. A question is being asked if I had Private Health Insurance up to a certain date in 2015. I guess that the rules are different for those who didn't ... I didn't. I'm getting quotes of €3000 per year for a family of 3. Am seriously thinking I just self pay should I need treatment. If we only need something every 3 years that's €9000 I'd have to fund it. Any informed advise?
 
Hi Queenspawn,
The question being asked relates to Lifetime Community Rating which came into effect on 1st May 2015.

"Anybody who lives outside of the State on 1 May 2015 and moves to live in Ireland will have 9 months to purchase inpatient private health insurance avoiding the loading under Lifetime Community Rating."

If you returned to Ireland before 1 May 2015, you will have a loading applied to your premium. 2% for every year you are older than age 34, example if you are 47 yrs, a 26% loading will be added to your policy.
If you returned to Ireland after 1 May 2015, you have nine months starting from the date you returned, to take out health insurance with no loading applied.

A lot of information here explaining all about Lifetime Community Rating
http://www.hia.ie/consumer-information/lifetime-community-rating-explained

I'm not sure what company you got quotes from, but there are cheaper options available offering good cover for a family of 3.

Example;
Laya Flex 500 Explore; adult price 661pa; this plan includes 3 levels of hospital cover - public, private and hi-tech hospital cover.

Public Hospitals are all fully covered for inpatient admissions or day case treatment, no charge applies on admission.
Private hospitals are all available on this plan, excess charge 500 payable on admission, 150 excess payable for day case treatment.
Hi-tech hospitals are also available on this plan, cardiac and orthopaedic surgery fully covered on this plan, no charges payable for these surgeries.
All other surgery covered with a 500 excess charge + 200 per night in hi-tech hospitals.

Child Option
Laya Simply Connect plan; child price 239pa; 3 levels of hospital cover included, private and hi-tech hospital excess charge 150 per admission,
good day to day cover, gp, dental visits, consultants visits etc. capped at 300 per year.

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Total family price; 661 + 661 + 239 = 1561pa
This is the basic price, if loadings apply to the adults, they would be added onto the above price.

Its been the subject of many debates here, whether to save the cash to fund medical costs instead of taking out health insurance.
Something you may not be aware of, in all the public hospitals in Ireland, including childrens hospitals, there is a nightly charge of 75 euro
if a person is admitted for surgery or treatment. This is capped at 75 x 10 or 750 per year per person. So health insurance covers this cost
in the public hospitals and also gives you the broader options of all the private and hi-tech hospitals if waiting lists are too long. 2 years is
nearly the norm now for a lot of surgery in the public system, unless its an emergency.

A lot of food for thought, hope this simplifies it a little.

Regards, Snowyb
 
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