Health Insurance

Health insurance is there to insure you against the costs of either a short term or long term stay in hospital. The cost can vary depending, on, if the accommodation is private or public and if you want access to a private or public hospital. This can usually be determined by your proximity a hospital, and whether of not you need to go private. It can also provide for certain procedures, day to day medical costs e.g. GP visits.

Health Insurance-Ten key points to watch out for.

With 3 health insurance providers and over 180 plans on the market, buying health insurance can be a time consuming and arduous task. Financial Architects of Ratoath have pinpointed ten points you should watch out for when switching health insurer or buying health insurance for the first time.

Cover for private accommodation in public hospitals, in most cases does not guarantee fast access to treatment. Make sure you have a plan with some access to private hospitals.
Check that hospitals local to you are not excluded and don’t have excesses applied to accommodation
Check that there are no shortfalls on specific treatments or procedures such as radiotherapy, chemotherapy, orthopaedic.
Check that you have full cover for day case treatment such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy and colonoscopies in private hospitals – these procedures account for 60 -70% of all health insurance claims.
Try to ensure you have cover for direct settlement MRI and CT scan centres which are local to you. This means you won’t have to wait to get access and you don’t need to pay if they are classified as ‘direct settlement’ centres.
Try to ensure you have cover for major cardiac procedures in the Blackrock Clinic, Mater Private & Beacon Hospitals.
Check that there is a low outpatient excess, this will ensure you get more money back from your outpatient expenses.
If you want cover for day-to-day benefits such as GP, Physiotherapist and dentist ensure that you are getting long term value for money – check the cover for each benefit & how many visits are covered per benefit
Check for any other benefits that may be of interest to you – health screening, maternity benefits, kids benefits etc.
Consider the health insurance needs of all the family individually – consider different plans & levels of cover for each.

For more information on Health Insurance benefits feel free to call Financial Architects on 01 8027670 to discuss your requirements.

Derek Maguire is a Qualified Financial Advisor and holds a Certificate in General Insurance for QFA`s.