James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am glad that the Deputy has raised this important issue. It is the third leg of the health stool - the Department, the HSE and the VHI - and is responsible for 80% of pay-outs. I am determined that we address the cost base. Why do we pay the same sort of money for a procedure that used to take two hours that now only takes 20 minutes? I discussed this matter with the VHI. After much pushing and shoving, it agreed to reduce the fee by as much as 20%. If there has been an 85% reduction in the time it takes, surely the reduction in the fee should be more than 20%. I intend to encourage the VHI to pursue these issues and to use clinical audits to challenge doctors about the necessity of the tests they are doing.

There have been double digit increases in health premiums in recent years, but we have kept the increase to 6% this year. Deputy Kelleher-----

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