Treatment using the National Health Fund services requires a lot of health, and queues to doctors – a lot of patience. Inconveniences related to the public healthcare mean that private medical care is becoming more and more popular. We just have to choose it well. Health insurance policy or medical subscription? What are the differences and similarities between them? We check what and when will work best!
Medical subscription
The subscription is offered by networks of private medical facilities. It is a service of providing healthcare, paid on a flat-rate basis, with the need to incur any additional costs after exceeding certain limits. Subscriptions are usually purchased by employers for their employees and constitute a form of additional non-wage benefit. The medical subscription can be used only in the network of facilities where the subscription was purchased. So the choice is extremely limited. The issue of referrals is also important. A significant difference between the subscription and the policy is the issue related to referrals for specialist tests. The choice of the subscription means that tests can be carried out only on the basis of a referral issued by the admitting physician in the facility where we purchased the subscription. However, in the case of the policy, the insured person may perform tests on the basis of any referral presented, even from a private or public doctor. Unlike medical subscriptions which are usually concluded for a short period of time or for the period of work for a given employer, insurance can fulfil its function for a long time. In principle, the insurance cannot be terminated by the insurer. Thus, it guarantees stable and long-term protection.
Subscription costs
The times of cheap medical subscriptions are gone. The announced increases in package prices, which were mentioned in the middle of the year, have just entered into force. Their scale is so gigantic that clients will have to think about how to comprehensively take care of their own health. Statistics Poland (GUS) reported that private health services (including the prices of pharmaceutical products as well as therapeutic devices and equipment) were more expensive by 7.2% on average already in the middle of the year than in the previous year and by 6% – counted from January. The basic operating costs in the LUX MED facilities have increased by 15% only since the beginning of this year – mainly due to the increase in labour costs of medical staff. “We have been raising salaries since the beginning of the year and the costs will increase even more from July, when regulations increasing the salaries of clinical staff in the public and private sectors come into force. In addition, the costs of energy and medical equipment are rising”, explained Anna Rulkiewicz, President of LUX MED. This can be seen in the prices of their most popular subscriptions. LUX MED’s flagship products – the Comprehensive Package and the Premium Package – increased by nearly 80% in October.
Policy
The health insurance policy is a service offered by insurance companies. Unlike the subscription, it consists in covering the costs of medical services by the insurer when necessary. It will be useful, for example, in case of an accident. The scope of a health policy depends on the variant proposed by the insurer. The policy may cover access to outpatient services (e.g. consultations with specialist doctors or diagnostic tests), payment of one-time benefits (usually based on submitted bills) in case of an illness or accident as well as hospital treatment (including reimbursement of hospital stay costs). The health insurance policy is individual in nature – as a rule, it differentiates the insured people according to their sex or age (this also determines the premium amount).
MediSky policy
What distinguishes the MediSky health insurance from standard health packages? Why is it worth trusting the International Health Card? What do we mean by the phrase “medical care at the highest level”?
The MediSky insurance means primarily:
- freedom of access to all private and public facilities throughout Poland – without exceptions,
- access to doctors of all specialities,
- full hospital care in all public and private hospitals throughout the country,
- second medical opinion,
- road and air ambulance,
- possibility to perform all laboratory and diagnostic tests without additional charges,
- treatment of cancer and other serious diseases,
- full outpatient surgery,
- treatment of HIV/AIDS,
- costs of prescription drugs.
Of course, the choice is yours, however, in times of huge price increases, it is worth paying attention not only to the price but also to the range of given solutions. In the end, it may turn out that no matter where you are, you might need help here and now. Therefore, it is worth choosing such an option that will be the guarantor of your health and life.
