Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

People aged 60 and over cannot simply join private health insurance schemes. There is a mechanism whereby they must wait to have pre-existing conditions dealt with, and this waiting period is sometimes between five and ten years. People should keep that in mind. I will get back to the Bill.

The proposed amendment inserts an explicit provision in the existing health insurance legislation that regulations to provide for lifetime community rating will be introduced, and it includes a commitment that such regulations will be in place by 1 January 2015. I was amazed to hear the Deputy say he does not want me to do it overnight. In terms of the Government and the Department of Health, that is overnight.

Single rate community rating applies where age at entry to health insurance does not determine the premium paid. Everyone is charged the same premium for a particular health insurance plan irrespective of age, gender and current or likely future state of their health. Under lifetime community rating, the premium paid by a person increases with the age at which they enter the private health insurance market. I am sure this is what the Deputy wanted. The introduction of lifetime community rating is one of a number of options being considered by the Minister to help address the decreasing membership of persons holding private health insurance. There are a number of technical issues which must be considered before any possible introduction of lifetime community rating, such as the age at which premium loading should commence and the rate at which loading should apply. In addition, prior to the introduction of lifetime community rating, it would be necessary to consult commercial insurers to keep the industry informed of any changes taking place and to consult consumers to provide as much advance notification to the public as possible of impending changes to allow them an appropriate grace period to purchase cover before any additional loading or premium prices would take effect.

The Minister has recently instructed officials to commence work immediately on assessing the full implications of introducing such a measure to the health insurance market to ensure that if subsequently pursued, it can be introduced in an appropriate and balanced manner. This and other regulatory issues will be examined further by the Department in the coming months to ascertain their merits and potential benefits to the private health insurance market. The existing health insurance legislation provides for the Minister to introduce regulations allowing for late entry loading should he decide to do so. This is a key pillar in lifetime community rating. In view of this and the steps under way as outlined, it is not necessary to insert an amendment to the Bill. I am not accepting the amendment.

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