The old VHI Plan B, a significant player in the Irish health insurance stage, is retiring. Effective from May 1st, this plan, under which many individuals have been insured since their early years, will no longer be available. It’s crucial to note that it stopped being referred to as ‘Plan B’ years ago. The retiring plans are officially known as Health Plus Extra, Health Plus Access, Health Plus Excess and Health Access.
The Health Insurance Authority has stated that approximately 130,000 individuals, which comprises one-tenth of VHI’s customer base, will be affected by this change. Many of these are elderly people who have repeatedly renewed their insurance out of a misplaced sense of loyalty, inertia, or to maintain comprehensive coverage for major orthopaedic and ophthalmic treatments.
By ‘misplaced loyalty’, we refer to the fact that customers who do not seek cheaper health insurance options every three years or so are incurring excessive costs. This was particularly true for the Health Plus plans, which were increasingly perceived by insurance specialists to be getting more costly. For instance, the Health Plus Extra was priced at €2,951 per adult in April 2023, which rose to €3,400 by last month, an overall surge of €449 in under a year. Retired couples desiring to get the Health Plus Extra plan from March 2024 are expected to have to pay nearly €900 more.
With these plans retiring, VHI will offer an alternate programme for the affected individuals. However, these people are urged not to auto-renew the offered plan and instead explore the market for the best value deal.
VHI does provide alternatives such as the Advanced Care product range. Dermott Goode from totalhealthcover.ie suggests that “members need to ensure that they aren’t switched to costlier choices”.
As an illustration, individuals subscribed to Health Plus Extra might explore the VHI Advanced Care Extra package, costing €3,327, which is slightly cheaper by just over €70 than their current plan. However, this plan doesn’t offer the same extent of out-patient coverage. They’re likely to be proposed the Advanced Care Extra Day-to-Day plan, but this would push their expenses up to €3,543 per adult.
Seems not ideal, doesn’t it?
Indeed, but Health Plus Extra subscribers have alternative choices allowing them to enjoy “outstanding coverage for approx. €2,400 per adult, rather than €3,400 on Health Plus Extra,” states Mr Goode. People with Health Access or Health Plus Excess have a potential saving advantage of €400 per adult by broadly comparing prices in the market.
The automatic enrolment pension scheme looks viable theoretically, but what are its practical implications?
Isn’t it daunting to navigate through various insurance schemes?
At first glance, yes. With about 350 plans in the market, people are naturally hesitant to make a hasty decision concerning their health. Fortunately, regulatory measures safeguard consumers, regardless of their age or health condition.
Can you shed some light on these regulations?
To begin with, switching from one insurer to another doesn’t cause any loss in the existing coverage. If the proposed plan from a different insurer provides superior coverage, you may have to wait for it to be activated, but you retain the initial coverage.
Am I at risk of bearing the brunt of a pre-existing condition?
Absolutely not, and we strongly emphasise this. Unlike other insurance types, health or age conditions don’t impose any financial penalties in health insurance. All individuals are deemed equal in the eyes of the law and insurance providers.
So what’s the best approach to making an informed decision?
The first step is acquiring factual knowledge. Contact your current provider to inquire if a cost-effective plan equivalent to your current one exists. If you’re willing to compromise on minor reductions considering the potential savings, relay that to them as well.
The insurance institution will possess a comprehensive summary of your prior claims, hence a primary query should be if newer or more economical schemes would have enveloped any claims compensated in the last two years at the identical coverage level. Should you be conversing with a varied insurer, honesty is key, as being candid won’t lead to penalties.
Highlight the current policy’s essential aspects and any existent conditions or operations that have been performed. Ensure they verify that any fresh and inexpensive policy will include all the things previously covered.
You might be wondering whether completing the process online is the best way forward. The response is negative. With health insurance, a phone conversation is a more prudent approach. While insurers like for clients to utilise online platforms, this places all decision-making, whether beneficial or detrimental, on us.
When you engage a firm’s representative in discussion, ask the right queries, demand clarity, and don’t hesitate to inquire — this places the burden on them to elucidate everything. Be mindful that as these calls are logged “for monitoring and quality assurance”, they cannot mislead you concerning the conversation’s actual content.