Insurance is one of the most important “guarantees” of our day; sometimes health, sometimes home, sometimes belongings or vehicles… Having every single belonging or valuable of ours, including our health, under insurance is worth its weight in gold in today’s world where economic conditions are quite tiring.
Some types of insurance are mandatory while others are optional, but at the end of the day, when unexpected and sudden accidents or health problems knock on the door, the first thing people look for is insurance. What if you don’t have insurance? In this article, we will briefly explain the examination opportunities for those without insurance or what to pay attention to.
Is It Possible to Get an Inspection Without Insurance?
Going to the hospital without insurance is a very worrying situation for those who do not have any health insurance, because serious health expenses are inevitable even before starting treatment, including examinations and tests at the hospital. Let’s start with the answer to the question of whether you can be examined at the hospital without insurance.
People who are not insured and do not have health insurance can also benefit from state hospital facilities and have the right to be examined. In other words, if there is no insurance for a state hospital, it will be possible to benefit from health. However, a certain fee will be required for this. Examination is possible after paying the examination fee without insurance at the hospital.
Although it is possible to go to the hospital and get examined without insurance, it is also obvious how long the time spent in hospitals is in today’s conditions. In other words, the process does not end with just being examined by the doctor; it is also possible to wait in lines for tests, examinations, imaging and many other procedures requested by the doctor, and even to make appointments for months in advance. This process can be quite dangerous, especially for those who are at risk of life and need urgent treatment. So what should those who do not have health insurance but need emergency treatment procedures follow? Let’s talk about it in our next topic.
Well, let’s say you don’t have any health insurance and you don’t work in any job with insurance… What should be done in this case? Let’s summarize this in 2 items.
- People who do not have GSS and SGK can have private health insurance and benefit from many opportunities such as inpatient treatment, limited or unlimited outpatient treatment. If necessary, additional coverage can be activated and the scope of the insurance policy can be expanded with additional health services provided. Let’s also sprinkle the information between the lines that all these health services can be provided in private hospitals. We definitely recommend that you read our article titled ” What is private health insurance ?”
- People who do not have SGK but cannot get private health insurance can activate General Health Insurance and then benefit from complementary health insurance. But how? Complementary health insurance is a type of insurance that is valid in hospitals that have an SGK agreement. With TSS, you can receive treatment in private hospitals by only paying a co-payment. Compared to ÖSS, it is more affordable and very similar in terms of the health services it provides. We definitely recommend that you read our article titled “ What does complementary health insurance cover? ”
Finally, let’s answer the question of how to get general health insurance. The first thing that people who do not have health insurance or who do not work in any job with insurance should do is to apply to the Social Security Institution and benefit from the General Health Insurance system. The request to benefit from GSS is stated in the application and the person can also apply online if they wish. Let us inform you that it is also possible to apply via e-government. After logging into the system with the e-government password, you can apply and the insurance process can be started by submitting the requested documents to the nearest SGK district directorate.
Click on the link for detailed information about Family Supplementary Health Insurance .
My Health Insurance Has Run Out, What Should I Do?
As long as the general health insurance premiums are paid, the person is always insured. If the person leaves the job, the insurance continues for 3 months after becoming unemployed. In other words, the insurance is not canceled as soon as the person leaves the job, and they can continue to benefit from health services for 3 months.
A person can re-insure by making external payments after leaving work and 3 months have passed, but this will undoubtedly be a serious cost. When paying SSI premiums from outside becomes difficult in terms of cost, supplementary health insurance comes into play. If the general health insurance premium continues to be paid, the person can have supplementary health insurance. In this way, they can receive health services at SSI contracted hospitals such as Medical Park Hospitals, Medipol Hospitals or Medicana Hospitals, and without waiting in line!
Another option is private health insurance. If you want to receive health services directly without paying SGK or general health insurance premiums, you can benefit from a private health insurance product. With ÖSS, you can receive health services in private hospitals such as American Hospitals, Acıbadem Hospitals or Florence Nightingale Hospitals and receive your health services quickly within the limits and rates specified in your policy.
In short, even if you do not have a health insurance with state guarantee, you can be insured with private health insurance and receive treatment in private hospitals.
I Don’t Have Insurance. Can I Go to the Hospital?
It is possible to benefit from health care without insurance or in other words, to go to the hospital without insurance. However, a small payment will be required at the hospital to go to the hospital without insurance and to be examined. After the non-insurance examination fee is paid at the hospital, it will be possible to receive health services such as examination, analysis, and treatment.
The cost of an examination without insurance in a hospital can vary between 50 and 90 TL in state hospitals; if the doctor requests additional tests and examinations, the fee will increase. It is also possible to have an examination without insurance in private hospitals, but each private hospital adopts a different pricing policy for this, so it would be misleading to give a price range.
It would be useful to open a parenthesis at this point. Yes, you can have an examination opportunity without insurance in state hospitals, but it is also necessary to consider the patient density here. There are many examples where we have observed that a tomography or x-ray requested by the doctor can be given months later. It is obvious how valuable time is, especially in emergency or follow-up patients. In such cases, an appointment given months later can reach life-threatening dimensions. You apply to a private hospital for an alternative and quick solution, but here you will encounter numbers with many zeros. This is a vicious cycle, and at the end of the day, it also negatively affects your health. Let’s make this more understandable with a simple example.
For example, you went to an internal medicine specialist in a private hospital. It is possible to say that the average cost for a doctor’s examination in private hospitals is 2 thousand and above. The doctor asked you for laboratory tests; it is inevitable that you will encounter a figure of at least 6 thousand and above when you include tests, examinations, imaging procedures. Instead of dealing with such large figures, you can choose one of the private health insurance or supplementary health insurance products, and you can have your health expenses insured with premiums that suit your budget and additional coverages that you prefer if you wish.
Do not pay examination fees with private health insurance!
It is possible to benefit from many health services such as inpatient and outpatient treatment with private health insurance, which provides the opportunity to benefit from the treatment of diseases and many additional services. The scope is quite wide, including laboratory services, physical therapy, imaging and diagnostic methods, advanced diagnostic methods, pregnancy follow-up expenses.
If the person wishes, he/she can add additional coverage to the ÖSS policy and make his/her insurance much more comprehensive. We also recommend that you read our blog post where we wrote about the benefits of private health insurance.