Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

This has been raised with the Minister for Health by Deputy Olivia Mitchell on a number of occasions. It seems to be a practice within the VHI, as opposed to the other insurers, to bill a person for the levy for the full year if he or she was paying on a monthly basis. Under the old system, the payment was on an annual basis. Now that it is on a quarterly basis, does this mean a person will only have to pay up to the end of the quarter and the new insurance company will take over from then on, or will the practice that has existed up to now continue? The difficulty is that this creates a barrier to switching mid-year.

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