Get peace of mind not big hospital bills
Although your health is your wealth, money goes a long way if you fall sick. Can you afford not to cough up for private health insurance, asks Louise McBride
SCAN: The costs of various types of scans can vary wildly from clinic to clinic
Related Articles
Last month's landmark ruling on private health insurance has certainly thrown a spanner in the works. On July 16, the Minister for Health, Mary Harney, was forced back to the drawing board on risk equalisation -- a scheme which requires health insurers with younger customers to compensate those with older customers.
That day, five Supreme Court judges told her she had gone beyond her powers in December 2005 when she gave the green light to risk equalisation. There has been a mixed reaction to the ruling. VHI Healthcare's rivals, Quinn Healthcare and Hibernian Healthcare, are no doubt over the moon -- they've saved themselves millions of euros in risk equalisation bills. VHI, which was expecting €40m in risk equalisation payments from Quinn and Hibernian, expressed its disappointment, saying the Supreme Court decision would have "serious consequences for older and chronically ill members".
Time will tell whether or not the ruling will increase the cost of private health insurance for the elderly and vulnerable, and reduce the cost of insurance for the young and healthy. But the latest furore may have also prompted people to ask themselves whether or not they should pay for private health insurance at all.
If you're young, free and single, a private health insurance plan could cost as little as €304 a year. However, a middle-aged adult looking for the best private health cover available could pay as much as €2,036 a year. The average adult pays between €600 and €700 a year for private health insurance, according to Aongus Loughlin, head of healthcare with Dublin consultancy, Watson Wyatt. For example, if you want cover for a semi-private room in a private hospital, VHI's Plan B costs €665 a year.
It's easy to see how private health insurance bills can add up over the years. If you pay €700 a year for your insurance, after 30 years, you will have forked out about €21,000 for cover. You'll pay even more if covering your children as well. If you are lucky enough never to make a claim under your insurance policy, €21,000 is a high price to pay for peace of mind.
If you end up in hospital after developing a serious illness, this could be money well spent, however. It costs €758 a night for a bed in a private room in a regional public hospital, such as Waterford Regional or Limerick Regional. A bed in a semi-private room costs €594 a night. Step into a private hospital however and you could pay at least €1,000 a night for a bed alone, according to Loughlin.
"Private hospitals charge a rate for the bed but you will usually pay extra for any drugs you have, nurse visits, theatre, x-rays and so on," said Loughlin. "Public hospitals, however, don't charge for extras -- you won't be charged for things like x-rays or theatre as these will be included in the rate."
If you develop a serious illness, you may not be able to afford treatment in a private or public hospital if you don't have private health insurance. Some plans cover up to 180 days of hospital accommodation. If you don't have private health insurance, what are your chances of having enough money to cover the bill for 180 days in hospital? A private room in a regional public hospital for that time will set you back almost €140,000. A 180-day stay in a private room in a private hospital could set you back more than €180,000.
The more serious your illness, the more costly your treatment. Herceptin, which is used to treat certain types of breast cancer, costs €25,000 per patient treated, according to the VHI.
Not many private hospitals are forthcoming about their charges. When asked for the cost of accommodation and certain treatments such as an MRI scan -- one of the best ways to identify tumours, and a PET scan -- which is used to detect cancer, a spokeswoman for the Mater Private in Dublin said: "Prices for treatments vary greatly depending on a variety of factors including the consultant, the procedure, the extent of the procedure and the level of private health insurance that an individual may have. In most cases, the cost of the room is included in the price of the procedure."
A spokeswoman for the Hermitage Clinic in Dublin said it had "decided not to respond as for the majority of these treatments there is no easily explained, single, answer".
Not everyone was as mysterious about their charges, however.
A spokeswoman for Blackrock Clinic said that a patient without private health insurance would pay about €575 a night for a bed. "This rate includes the nursing care, the high-tech medical monitoring equipment required, catering, housekeeping support and so on," she said. Blackrock Clinic charges €445 for an MRI scan if you don't have private health insurance. Eye laser treatment costs €2,200 per eye.
Although the Galway Clinic would not disclose the cost of accommodation, it said it charges €3,800 for eye laser treatment for both eyes. A PET scan costs €2,500 there and an MRI scan costs €490 -- both rates include the radiologist's fee.
Some private hospitals charge €800 or more for MRI scans. The Euromedic Group, which includes the Charlemont Clinic, MRI Ireland and a couple of other Dublin clinics, charges €395 for an MRI scan and between €250 and €400 for CT scans -- used to detect bone tumours, heart disease and cancer. An ultrasound, which can detect problems during pregnancy, costs €145 with Euromedic while x-rays cost between €80 and €120. The Charlemont Clinic charges €250 for an echocardiogram, which can help diagnose heart disease.
- Louise McBride
