Returning to Ireland and buying private health insurance

Private health insurance helps you pay for private medical care. This can be in a hospital or from other health professionals. If you are ordinarily resident in Ireland, you can access a range of public health services whether or not you have private health insurance.

If you get healthcare in a public hospital as a public patient, you may need to pay hospital charges. Medical card holders and certain other groups do not have to pay hospital charges.

This page outlines what you need to know about buying health insurance when you return to Ireland.

You do not have to buy private health insurance in Ireland. If you are ordinarily resident in Ireland, you can access public health services for free or at a reduced cost.

The main benefits of private health insurance in Ireland are:

• Cover for hospital accommodation in a private or shared room
• Cover for inpatient consultant services as a private patient
• Other cover including maternity, overseas, psychiatric, and outpatient benefits

In some cases, you may have a shorter wait time for an appointment using your private medical insurance.

You can still access public health services if you have private health insurance. For example, if your General Practitioner (GP) refers you to a specialist consultant in a hospital, you can decide if you want to be treated through the public or the private system. Similarly, if admitted to hospital, you will need to tell the hospital whether you want to be admitted as a public or a private patient.

If you are a public patient, you do not have the right to choose your consultant.

The cost of health insurance includes a premium (the basic price) and a loading (an additional amount that depends on your age). If you are 35 or older when you buy health insurance in Ireland for the first time, you may have to pay an extra charge or age-based loading called the lifetime community rating (LCR).

If you lived outside Ireland on 1 May 2015 and buy health insurance within 9 months of moving to Ireland, you do not need to pay the LCR loading.

If you lived in Ireland on 1 May 2015 and moved outside Ireland on or after 1 November 2018, you can get a credit for periods you spent abroad of 6 months or more. This is called a “qualifying credited period.” If you receive credit for your time abroad, you will be assessed as if you had health insurance for that time abroad, even if you did not have any cover.

You must prove to the insurance company that you were living abroad but you returned to live in Ireland permanently in the last 9 months.

You can do this by providing:

• Evidence of accommodation lease arrangements or utility bills abroad
• Travel documents or an application for a PPS number is accepted as proof of returning to live in Ireland
• A contract of employment for a job in Ireland
• Agreements for a mortgage or rental of a property in Ireland
• Bank statements relating to an Irish bank account

You can claim tax relief if you buy private health insurance or long-term care insurance. The insurance company gives you this tax relief at source. This means they deduct it from your premium.

When you take out health insurance for the first time in Ireland, you may have to serve waiting periods before you are fully covered. However, some insurers will remove the waiting period when you return if you have previously had health insurance in Ireland or if you were covered by certain types of health insurance abroad.

There is no waiting period for accidents and injuries so they will be covered immediately.

The maximum initial waiting period is 26 weeks for illnesses that start after you join. For maternity claims, the waiting period is 52 weeks.

If you have a pre-existing condition (an illness that existed in the 6 months before buying health insurance), the maximum waiting period is 5 years before that condition will be covered by your insurance.

If you need healthcare during your waiting period, you can still use public healthcare services or pay in full for private healthcare services.

If you are buying health insurance in Ireland for the first time, there is a waiting period of up to 52 weeks for maternity cover.

Depending on your plan, your insurance may pay the cost of some or all of the following after 52 weeks:

• Out-patient private consultant fees, which cover the routine visits to your consultant before the birth
• Hospital accommodation in a private room or a semi-private (shared) room in a public hospital
• Delivery consultant’s fees at the time of delivery
• Other consultants' fees at the time of delivery
• Fees for a home birth

If you are pregnant and are not covered for maternity services under private health insurance, you can still access maternity care through the public healthcare system. All pregnant people who are ordinarily resident in Ireland are entitled to free maternity care. This includes antenatal visits, labour and delivery, and postnatal care.

If you have a baby, they do not have to serve a waiting period if you add them to your health insurance policy within 13 weeks of their birth.

You can read more in our page on Returning to Ireland and having a baby.

The type of health insurance you need depends on your level of cover, lifestyle, age, and pre-existing medical conditions. You should shop around for quotes from each provider and compare the benefits to see what suits you best.

The following companies offer voluntary private health insurance in Ireland:

• Irish Life Health
• Laya Healthcare
• VHI Healthcare
• HSF Health Plan (provides cash benefit plans but not in-patient health insurance)

There are also some health insurance providers that deal only with particular groups of employees, for example, Gardaí or prison officers. These schemes are known as restricted membership schemes.

The Health Insurance Authority’s website has a tool that lets you compare private health insurance plans in Ireland.

If you’re travelling to another EU or EEA country, you can use a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) to access free or low-cost healthcare during your travel.

Read more about private health insurance in Ireland.