# Private Health Care_Portugal



## Ronnie_Yook (May 9, 2012)

Private Health Care_Portugal

Hello, does anybody in the expatforum have any current information and/or experience of coming out of the Portuguese National Health Service and the benefits and/or disadvantages of paying for a Private Health Insurance Plan.

Especially if you are about retirement age, or retired.


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## paramonte (Sep 9, 2007)

Topics to have in mind
-- There is a wide variety of private insurance schemes. You can get a deal from 50 euros/year obviously with a very limited cover. 
-- Some insurance companies have an age limit for acceptance. Others will cover till a certain age only. Some will have no limits but the price is higher-
-- Pre-conditions are normally not covered
-- Infections diseases such as AIDS and hepatitis are normally not covered
-- Some cancer deceases may have have limitations
-- Dental cover is often an add on, not default. Some companies dental cover will have a set of pre-defined dentists, you can not choose outside. With others you can but the price is higher. Often the company has a list of dental works that covers and how many times. Often there are exclusions such as dental transplants etc.
--Expenditure (plafonds) is normally pre-defined for apointments , treatments and hospital stays (the company may only cover a part of the daily hospitalisation price)
Read carefully the conditions and the small print


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## canoeman (Mar 3, 2011)

Generally the Portuguese Health Service is extremely good and we have zero issues complaints with it, and far more satisfied than NHS UK.
A lot of policies also reguire you to be registered anyway and the issue with Health Insurance is cost especially when starting later in life as few pre existing conditions or related illness would be covered or push premiums up, major decision to opt out just to private insurance as sooner or later you won't get cover at any cost


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