Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am pleased to have the opportunity to address the committee on the Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2019. The Bill was published on 21 November and, as Deputies are aware, concluded its passage through Second Stage in the Dáil last week. I welcome the support received in the House for the core principle of community rating, which is a long established and well-supported Government policy for the health insurance market. This is a short and technical Bill comprising six sections, all focused on the specific issue of health insurance regulation. The provisions outlined in the Bill will ensure the ongoing sustainability of the private health insurance market, as well as health insurance policies at an affordable price for all citizens, young or old and sick or healthy.

To support community rating, which is one of the fundamental principles of Irish health insurance, legislation is needed each year to update and revise the scheme that enables the sharing of risk across the insured population. As part of the process, the Health Insurance Authority, which is the independent market regulator, carries out an annual evaluation of the market focused on the claims cost that every insurer has paid over the year. Based on this analysis, the authority recommends the level of credits and stamp duties that should apply the following year in order that risk may be shared across the market and the principle of community rating is maintained. The rates for next year recommended by the authority have been considered and accepted by the Minister for Health and the Minister for Finance. This year's Bill will provide for a general decrease in the credits across genders and age groups and there will be some changes in the stamp duty levies on contracts.

The stamp duty in respect of products providing advanced cover will be slightly increased by €5 to €449 per adult and by €2 to €150 per child. The stamp duty in respect of products providing non-advanced cover will be reduced by €20 to €157 per adult and by €7 to €52 per child.

It is important to note there has been no increase in stamp duty on health insurance contracts for the past two years so this 1% increase for policyholders with advanced contracts is not only necessary to support more affordable policies for older and less healthy people but is also extremely modest as the first increase in three years, bearing in mind much more significant increases in years gone by.

As I have said, the Bill allows us to maintain our support for the core principle of community rating, which is a long-established and well-supported Government policy for the health insurance market. I commend the Bill to the House.