There are regular comments about saturation and waiting lists in the medical charts of some insurers. It is not understandable, that paying a private health insurance, one has to suffer delays in the provision of the consultation, diagnostic test or intervention.

What reasons may exist for having waiting lists in a private medical directory?

When it is not motivated by a specific event in a certain center, there may be several reasons that cause this situation:

a) That the insurer has not adequately dimensioned its medical chart.

In this case, there would have been a greater development of the commercial part, to the detriment of the service. More health insurance would have been contracted, and therefore the insured would have increased, to a greater extent than those that the medical team itself can attend to.

A satisfactory solution

In these cases, the solution would go through an expansion of the medical chart by the insurer

Recommendation

Claim our rights to the insurer to force said extension

b) That the chosen center or professional prioritize certain patients

It is a reality that insurers pay much lower rates than those paid by a private patient. The service demanded would be the same, but based on the greater volume of business contributed, the insurers negotiate a lower cost. In some cases we talk about rates that represent a 70-75% discount on private rates, in such a way that a consultation of €120 could be reduced to €30 for an insurer. The higher the volume of patients, the greater the ability to lower prices.

The problem would come from certain insurers, which push the prices they pay professionals to the limit (in order to offer cheaper health insurance), causing their response to prioritize other types of patients (private or from insurers that pay more) . If the company offers very low prices for health insurance to its clients, and follows a low cost concept with its medical chart, the result will normally be a mediocre service.

For a medical professional, the profitability that a private patient can obtain can be 4 times greater than that of an insurer, which is why a differentiated waiting list is usually established.

A satisfactory solution

Choose an insurer with guaranteed service and stability. It is very important to guarantee the continuity of the contract, if possible for life and without surprise premium increases.

Recommendation

Analyze all the options and think in the long term, since for health insurance, the choice of insurer is very important, and can condition vital benefits in the future. We can help you find the best health insurance in the Canary Islands.