Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank all the contributors for a comprehensive overview. One of the things that comes across from the presentations is the lack of stability, which is of concern for them because it does not allow them to undertake long-term planning. We must accept that fundamental changes are ongoing concerning the reorganisation of health services. It would be helpful if they could do long-term planning over three, four or five years. Taking into account that there will be fundamental changes, how can the Department best help health insurance companies in devising long-term plans for the cost of insurance?

The the contributors referred to €30 million which is what the Department said it will be collected from private patients in public beds. If the Department put a cap of €30 million on what it will collect from insurers for the use of public beds by private patients, how would the companies see that being implemented?

The development of medical services is disjointed in this country. According to the HSE's annual report for 2012, €3.27 billion was paid out from the health budget to voluntary hospitals and agencies. What comes across to me is the amount of duplication in the provision of some medical services and the lack of services in other areas. Do the insurers see themselves as playing a part in solving this? If there are three hospitals in one population centre, would insurers only cover certain procedures in each of these hospitals in order to create more efficiencies?