THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION today approved the risk equalisation scheme which impacts those with private health insurance in Ireland.
The scheme, which came into effect at the start of 2013, aimed to prevent the scenario where the cost of health insurance would vary significantly between younger, healthier people and those of an advanced age.
The Minister for Health, Dr James Reilly, welcomed the EU’s approval, saying that the scheme had resulted in a “permanent and robust system of Risk Equalisation.”
Reilly said that the scheme was budget neutral and had “no overall impact on the costs in the market”, adding that it supported competition in the marketplace.
John O Dwyer, the Chief Executive of VHI Healthcare, said that today’s decision protected the concept of “intergenerational solidarity”.
He went on to say:
It ensures that the cost of providing healthcare to vulnerable members of society is shared equally by all who are insured and that older and sicker people are protected.
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