Reply To: VHI Insurance

[JenBean14]

I managed to get approval from VHI for surgery in the UK. Similar to posters on other threads, the key was to get a referral letter from an Irish consultant. My Irish consultant who performed my laparoscopy in 2016 did not touch what he found as he felt it was too severe. He was reluctant to fill out the VHI form but was happy to provide a referral letter. In his letter he referred to the fact that he did not believe there was any surgeon in Ireland who could do the required surgery and requires a centre of excellence. My UK surgeon provided all the info I needed to fill out the VHI form with details of the procedure. I also sent in peer reviewed medical papers backing up my case for excision in a centre of excellence – including articles from the recent media coverage about the lack of a centre of excellence in Ireland.

VHI will cover all the hospital expenses up front. I will have to pay Surgeon and Anesthetist bills upfront myself and claim back from VHI – but this was at the request of the medics themselves and not VHI.

Hope this helps others, but based on the feedback on here, there is hope for those with VHI.