Healthcare for Scottish wife?
 

Hi, is there a UK person on this forum who has moved from the UK to Ireland and has some experience of accessing the doctor, what they had to pay, whether its best to have some private health insurance to top up and also what might be a very rough cost? I know its very difficult to get an estimate as there will be enormous differences with different people and lots of companies to choose from. I am from Dublin and my wife is Scottish.
I can phone anyone by arrangement to save their phone bill. <snip>
I have read tons of very useful articles but nothing beats actually chatting with someone who has gone before and knows what will happen! Thanks, Liam

Re: Healthcare for Scottish wife?
 

As a British citizen ordinarily resident in the RoI your wife will have the same access to the Irish healthcare system as you do.

Re: Healthcare for Scottish wife?
 

Re: Healthcare for Scottish wife?
 

try and keep your foot in the door on nhs for scans,hips,knees etc. waiting lists are pretty long without private. pre existing conditions private are 5 year b4 claiming i believe

Re: Healthcare for Scottish wife?
 

Thanks Shaun, its ages since I was last on here but I have gone full circle with selling the house in the UK and now FINALLY in a position to buy a place in Wicklow. The problem still remains in that I need to really speak with someone who is from the UK and has moved to Ireland so I can ask them how they have coped with the HSE medical care. I am from Dublin, so no real probs for me, but my Scottish wife is very anxious re the amount of private health insurance that may be needed for her. We are of a retirement age, no big health worries. Its a bit of a minefield in selecting the right level of cover. I had someone call me from one of the Irish health insurance companies and I had to lie down in a dark room afterwards! It got totally confusing .. they all want to sell you a good deal but at the highest cost obviously. If anyone can suggest a few clever ways around our problem, which companies to choose for a quote etc then please email me <snip> Good luck to everyone moving around, for all sorts of reasons, hope it all works out well for you, Liam

Re: Healthcare for Scottish wife?
 

Not a good idea to put your e-mail address on the open forum due to spammers so I have removed it. Members can send you a PM or e-mail via the drop down list under your user name.

Rosemary

Re: Healthcare for Scottish wife?
 

At the end of the day only you can decide what it's worth to you and what kind of plan you want personally. Is a private room important, do you just want hospital cover etc.? Here is a good site to check https://www.hia.ie/
and here a good article:
Comparing Health Insurance in Ireland - Money Guide Ireland


Health insurance in Ireland must be an insurance brokers dream – they can overwhelm clients with the details and make them so confused that they will probably accept whatever the broker says is the best policy.
It is probably a safe bet that most people in Ireland don’t have a clue exactly what their health insurance covers them for.
One option – the cheapest one – is not to buy private health insurance at all. Some people seem to think they will be bankrupt if they ever need hospital treatment without medical insurance – but the most it can cost you is €750 in a year.
If you are admitted to hospital for any reason – without health insurance or a medical card – the charge for in-patient/day services is €75 per day up to a maximum of €750 in any 12 consecutive months. All the treatment you recieve in hospital, all procedures,scans,surgery etc and all follow up out-patient treatment is free of any further charge.
Long Stay patients are charged less: (Long stay = over 30 days)
a) Those receiving in-patient services where nursing care is provided on a 24 hour basis the maximum weekly charge will be €153.25, or their weekly income less €44.70, whichever is the lesser.
b) those receiving in-patient services where nursing care is not provided on a 24 hour basis – the maximum weekly charge will be the lesser of €114.95, or the person’s weekly income less €70.25, or 60% of the persons weekly income
Without health insurance , in some cases you may well have to wait a good bit longer to be treated in the first place .

Re: Healthcare for Scottish wife?
 

Thanks for all that information, very well appreciated and gives me hope that we can move over and get the business working there, plus have some sort of a healthcare support.
The big fear was that one of us would get hit by a bus or whatever, end up in hospital and then have some operations that we simply could not afford and potentially lose the house. I will now make further enquiries, but thanks again, Liam

Re: Healthcare for Scottish wife?
 

Healthcare is always a sensitive topic, especially in this country and forum. Yes, there have been a lot of issues, waiting lists can be long in some parts of the country but where is it different? According to recent news NHS is actually behind Ireland but again some will argue about that and you can of course argue what it's based on. Even if it's not the case, we are still lucky enough to live in this part of the world. The good thing is that if you break your legs it still won't cost you your house and people are willing to help NHS is 'worse than healthcare in Ireland, Spain and Slovenia' in new global ranking | The Independent




I suppose we are lucky to have the problems we have.

Re: Healthcare for Scottish wife?
 

"If you are admitted to hospital for any reason – without health insurance or a medical card – the charge for in-patient/day services is €75 per day up to a maximum of €750 in any 12 consecutive months. All the treatment you receive in hospital, all procedures,scans,surgery etc and all follow up out-patient treatment is free of any further charge"

I presume that cap on charges would apply just to ME and not my wife who is not Irish? If so, still looking for the best options for an affordable medical insurance for my wife. As we reach retiring age the limitations on cover are enormous and very costly. We are over soon to view some houses and could then arrange an interview with the authorities to ask them some questions.
Thanks all, Liam