Does My Child Really Need Health Insurance?

When it comes to health insurance, one of the most common questions we hear is: “do I really need to insure my children?”.

While there are no private hospitals for children, there a several reasons why children should be added to your health insurance plan from birth. We explore some of the top reasons why insurance is so important for children and what you need to consider when selecting a policy.

Waiting Periods for Cover

In Ireland, children under the age of 6 are entitled to a free GP card. But that doesn’t mean they won’t need health insurance to access other treatments not covered by the GP card.

You can take out health insurance for your child, or add them to your existing policy, from the day they’re born. While there’s no waiting period to access the benefits of your policy if the child is added within 13 weeks of their birth, if you leave it too late to get your child insured, they will be considered a “new entrant”.

As a result, children added more than 13 weeks after their birth will be subject to a 26-week waiting period for any new conditions – and a 5-year waiting period for any pre-existing conditions. So, if you wait until your child needs treatment to take out health insurance, they won’t be covered for care relating to their pre-existing illness.

Waiting Lists for Treatment

It’s often assumed that children won’t be put on long waiting lists for medical care. Unfortunately, this is very far from the truth.

Currently in Ireland, a staggering 89,962 children are waiting for inpatient or outpatient procedures, with more than 39,500 having waited at least 12 months.

A 2017 RTÉ documentary, ‘Living on the List’, highlighted how long and awful these waiting lists can be for children. In particular, the documentary showed children diagnosed with Scoliosis – an abnormal curvature of the spine usually diagnosed in childhood – waiting months, if not years, for surgery. Not only is Scoliosis a very painful condition, resulting in children waiting for treatment suffering prolonged pain and discomfort, but it can also affect growth and development. As a result, long delays to treatment can be detrimental, allowing the Scoliosis to worsen.

In 2017, the Minister for Health, Simon Harris, promised that no child would have to wait more than 4 months for Scoliosis treatment. Not only has this target not been reached, but waiting lists for Scoliosis have grown by almost a third since the start of the pandemic – from 148 children in 2019 to 196 in April 2021.

Waiting times for emergency treatment can also be much longer than you’d expect, with an Irish Times 2017 report stating that emergency treatment waiting times in Ireland were the worst in Europe.

Reducing these waiting times for treatment is one of the most common reasons people take out health insurance for their children. In 2020, a study by the Economic and Social Research Institute found that people in Ireland with private health insurance were twice as likely to wait less than 3 months for outpatient appointments, and three times as likely for inpatient treatment.

So, by getting your child covered under a health insurance policy sooner rather than later, you can help ensure they can access the treatment they need, when they need it.

Children's Health Insurance

The cost of children’s health insurance cover will vary depending on the level of cover you select. While many policies offer hospital-only cover, others will provide cover for day-to-day treatment, such as consultant visits.

However, until your child turns 18, their premiums should be no more than 50% of your adult rate, and insurance providers generally offer low-cost options for children. For example, some plans may only require you to pay premiums for one child, while your other children are included in the policy free-of-charge. So, be sure to ask your insurer or broker what their lowest price is for children’s plans.

Each member on a family health insurance policy doesn’t need to be on the same plan. Children are not usually treated in the high-tech hospitals (the Blackrock Clinic, Mater Private and the Beacon) so while adults may like cover for these hospitals, there is no point in paying a higher premium for children to have these plans included. Additionally, with children under 6 years of age being eligible for a GP visit card, it may not be necessary to have cover for these visits for young children.

Finding the Right Cover

With all three of Ireland’s health insurance providers – Laya Healthcare, Vhi and Irish Life Health – offering a range of plans and levels of cover for children, finding the right policy to suit your family can be overwhelming.

At HCC.ie, our health insurance experts can help you find the right plan for you and your loved ones, comparing all plans available in the Irish market to find one that meets your unique needs and budget. So, you can rest assured that your family’s healthcare needs are covered, while ensuring you’re not paying over the odds for cover.

Get in touch with our team of experts using the form below for health insurance advice and support.