Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Risk equalisation and lifetime community rating were to be the foundation of our health insurance sector but they remain an intervention to try to adjust what is an inappropriate infrastructure. The ESRI reported earlier on this year in terms of lifetime community rating. Like so many aspects of this regime, perverse incentives persist. What happened on the back of the introduction of lifetime community rating was that younger people responded as intended by entering the market, and the insurance industry responded in kind and developed cheaper plans that give less cover. The practical effect of it was that younger people were paying less and getting less for their money, which resulted in significant out-of-pocket payments and a lack of solidarity. The intention of solidarity that was there did not materialise. Out-of-pocket payments remained very significant. On top of that, the indications are that premiums will increase next year by up to 7% and we still wait for the implementation of the de Buitléir report. The solution in all of this is a move away from public investment in private healthcare. There is significant public investment in private healthcare. We need to move to a single-tier public health service on the back of the Sláintecare report. Sinn Féin wants to see an all-island health service that is free at the point of delivery and delivered based on need rather than ability to pay. That is where we need to go.

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