Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will respond first to Deputy Denis Naughten. The Department of Health officials have surveyed the insurers and confirmed that the majority of plans across all insurers provide cover for model 2 hospitals. The plans that do not are entry level plans, which still provide cover for some model 2 hospitals. The entry level plans are intended for first-time entrants into the market and are offered at an affordable rate.

In response to Deputy McDonald, as already stated, including the amendment would introduce additional requirements for high-cost claims credits which have not been planned and have not been factored into the authority's recommendations for other credits or for the stamp duty. The proposed amendment raises a number of concerns. The legal consequences of a change in the legislation would effectively compel insurers to change their existing cover for hospitals and this would lead to an increase in premiums for consumers. Also, there would be an additional element for the new scheme which has not been notified to the European Commission and which could have knock-on effects for the negotiation process. The scheme was notified to the Commission in July and does not include this requirement that model 2 hospitals have to be covered in order for high-cost claims credits to be paid out. In most instances, high-cost claims do not occur in model 2 hospitals because, as I said on Second Stage, they mostly relate to people with cancer who would be in hospital for a long time and whose claims would exceed €50,000.

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