Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for submitting the amendment. Section 7A of the principal Act refers to premiums which may be charged under health insurance contracts in certain circumstances and provides the legal basis for Statutory Instrument No. 312 of 2014 which allows for late entry loadings. Under lifetime community rating, late entry loadings apply and policies written after 1 May 2015 where the person is taking out health insurance for the first time and is aged 35 or over or where 93,000 people avoided loadings by taking out health insurance since January 2015 in the lead-up to its introduction. Lifetime community rating supports intergenerational solidarity but also rewards those who take out health insurance at a younger age with a lower price. The continued encouragement of younger people into health insurance is necessary in order to make health insurance affordable and accessible to more people.

The scheme has only been in operation for a relatively short period, a matter of months. Provision is made in the regulations for a review to be carried out by the independent regulator, the Health Insurance Authority, after April 2017. While the Deputy's proposal does have merit I would like to receive proper consideration in the context of that review of the legislation as a whole. Following the review, any actions deemed appropriate to further enhance the working of the scheme will be considered, therefore I do not propose to accept the amendment at this time.