Страховая Irish Life требует пересмотра устаревшей системы субсидий для пожилых граждан

Irish Life Health has called for a redesign of the decades-old subsidy scheme for older and higher-risk citizens with health coverage, arguing that it has a “disproportionate” impact on younger and less affluent people. The company, which has a 20 per cent share of the State’s private health market, said in a pre-budget submission to the Department of Finance that the blanket rates, which stand €517 for so-called advanced adult policies and €172 for children, should be replaced with a lower minimum rate combined with a percentage of premium. Irish Life Group head of public policy Teresa Kelly Oroz told The Irish Times the flat rate could be set in line with the current entry-level, or non-advanced, health policy levies – currently set at €103 for adults and €34 for children. Levies have risen across the board by more than 10 per cent in each of the last two years. The pre-budget submission noted that the €517 levy equates to 43 per cent of an advanced Irish Life plan priced at €1,200, but 74 per cent of a typical €700 policy out to a 23-year-old with a young adult discount. READ MORE “Members on basic plans, disproportionately younger and less affluent, subsidise the plan enhancements of members on premium cover,” the submission stated. Under a risk equalisation scheme, introduced in the State in 2003, health insurers whose customers have a higher risk profile than the market average obtain payments from a risk equalisation fund. The fund is part of the Irish “community rating” health insurance system, where everyone pays the same premium for a given policy, regardless of age or health. State-owned health insurer VHI has been, by far, the biggest beneficiary of the risk equalisation scheme, due to its disproportionately large share of older and sicker customers. Some 2.55 million individuals are covered by health insurance in the State, most of whom have experienced share increases in premium prices in recent years – along with levy hikes – amid soaring claims costs. The scheme was first granted EU approval in 2003. It has been extended on five subsequent occasions, most recently in March 2022 – for a further five years. A Health Insurance Authority consultation paper issued to the industry last year suggested that the Government was looking for as much as a 10-year extension of the plan when the current scheme expires – subject to approval from the European Commission. [ Skyrocketing costs of private health insuranceOpens in new window ] Kelly Oroz said the scheme should be extended by a maximum of three years to allow redesign of the system, especially as Sláintecare’s phasing out of private practice in public hospitals will make non-advanced plans redundant in the market. Irish Life Health said the current scheme’s heavy reliance on age-related credits should be replaced by one that places greater emphasis on diagnosis. “Diagnosis-based measures, standard in the more developed equalisation systems internationally, have been under discussion in Ireland for years without a decision,” it said. “The 2027 redesign should commit to a published, dated roadmap for their introduction.”