Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputies for their support for this Bill and their contributions to the debate.

I agree with Deputy Shortall, in terms of the debate that we need to be having and, indeed, the debate we are having. This is obviously annual legislation we deal with but the Deputy is quite correct. We have all subscribed in this House to the idea of creating a universal health care system that can provide timely access for patients based on need, not ability to pay. That is where I want to get to as well. In that regard, Deputy Shortall has shown leadership with the Sláintecare report on which I look forward to working with Deputies in this House.

To recap briefly, the main purpose of this Bill is to specify the revised risk equalisation credits and the corresponding stamp duty levies to apply on health insurance from April of next year. I am pleased that this year it has been possible to maintain the main stamp duty at the existing level. In addition, the stamp duty for non-advanced contracts is being reduced by 20%. The credits and levy rates for next year strike a fair balance between the need to sustain community rating by keeping health insurance affordable for older less healthy consumers and maintaining the sustainability of the market by keeping younger healthier customers in the market.

The Bill also makes a number of changes to the operation of the lifetime community rating to ensure the continued smooth operation of that scheme in a fair and balanced manner. Following enactment of this Bill, I will make a regulation next year which will set out specific details of the changes and will further enhance the operation of the lifetime community rating scheme. These changes, coupled with ongoing increases in employment, which is factually a key driver in the demand for health insurance, will support the market and everyone who wishes to purchase private health insurance.

Before concluding, I will briefly respond to a few questions that were raised in this debate. Deputy Kelleher mentioned that the public health system subsidises consultants to do additional work over and above what they are entitled to do. A key objective of the consultant contract of 2008 is to improve access for public patients to public hospital care. The responsibility for reporting individual consultants' compliance with their contract was formally delegated to hospital groups in 2014. However, it appears clear that these arrangements are not robust enough to ensure individual consultant compliance. My Department is working with the HSE to find a solution to ensure compliance is monitored more effectively. I look forward to receiving that detail from Deputy Shortall tomorrow and passing it on to the HSE, and seeking action upon it.

Deputy Boyd Barrett queried whether the report prepared by the Health Insurance Authority, HIA, will be published. I can confirm that the report will be published before Committee Stage takes place.

Deputy Mattie McGrath asked had I met the Health Insurance Authority. I most recently met it on Thursday, 26 October.

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