Results 8,201-8,220 of 21,588 for speaker:Denis Naughten

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Health: Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Nov 2012)

Denis Naughten: I will make two points. The Minister is correct, in that a great deal of unnecessary cost seems to be built into the health insurance system. I will provide three brief examples. Caesarean sections account for 36% of all privately insured births. In the public system, the figure is 27%. The HSE's target is 20%. There is a major cost in this regard. In the UK, most cataract operations...

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Health: Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Nov 2012)

Denis Naughten: Will the Minister clarify the difference between a public hospital and a private hospital? He stated in a private hospital it is either a bed or not a bed whereas in a public hospital it is a only a bed. Is the Minister stating there is a difference if the procedure is carried out as a day procedure in a public hospital? Will the Minister elaborate on the implications of this? I thought...

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Health: Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Nov 2012)

Denis Naughten: In his contribution the Minister differentiated between private and public hospitals. I am asking why this differentiation was made.

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Health: Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Nov 2012)

Denis Naughten: I wish to ask about the hospital bed utilisation credit. Currently, the loading is based on age. It appears that under the definition of hospital bed utilisation credit people are being incentivised to remain in hospital beds and that the greater bed utilisation is the more an insurer will be paid. I thought the objective was to keep people out of hospital. As such, insurers should be...

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Health: Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Nov 2012)

Denis Naughten: Okay.

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Health: Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Nov 2012)

Denis Naughten: I move amendment No. 10: In page 11, before section 9, to insert the following new section:"9.--Section 7A of the Principal Act is amended, in subsection (7):"(c) notwithstanding the introduction of Universal Health Insurance,require that the registered undertaking concerned, to take into account the circumstances referred to in subsection (4).".".The purpose of the amendment is to address...

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Health: Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Nov 2012)

Denis Naughten: I understand that but this is an important amendment.

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Health: Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Nov 2012)

Denis Naughten: The issue of health insurance cost is being raised by everybody on the streets of this country. The only solution raised when the committee held hearings involved the 2001 Act. As a result of universal health insurance, which will be introduced at some stage, we have been told this is not a viable option. I am trying to put some kind of structure in place that would make it a viable option...

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Health: Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Nov 2012)

Denis Naughten: I accept the Minister's comments and on that basis I am prepared to withdraw the amendment and resubmit it on Report Stage. That will give him the opportunity to consider it. I accept that it is a complex area and it may not be possible for the Minister to formulate a simple answer. I am not seeking such a simple answer. We will have very detailed discussions on the implementation of...

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Health: Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Nov 2012)

Denis Naughten: Perhaps the Minister will clarify and correct me if I am wrong, but I understood that the idea behind UHI was that incentives would be built in, from an insurer's point of view, to keep people healthy. This relates to cost. That is the idea behind UHI. However, one must get the public to buy into that. Why should a smoker give up smoking if there is no incentive built into it? It will...

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Health: Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Nov 2012)

Denis Naughten: Does what has been circulated to us replace Schedule 4?

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Health: Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Nov 2012)

Denis Naughten: The white sheet is the rates that will apply between 1 January and 30 March 2013.

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Health: Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Nov 2012)

Denis Naughten: Does Schedule 4 apply after that?

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Health: Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Nov 2012)

Denis Naughten: These payments will be paid for the first quarter of the year based on the number of clients one has in this age group. In addition to that, there will be a €75 per day payment for hospital stays. Is that correct? However, it is only to apply for the first of quarter of the year.

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Health: Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Nov 2012)

Denis Naughten: After that Schedule 4 will kick in.

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Health: Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Nov 2012)

Denis Naughten: We have not been told what is in Schedule 4, Table 2.

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Health: Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Nov 2012)

Denis Naughten: No.

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Health: Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Nov 2012)

Denis Naughten: What will he provide for on Report Stage? This is the difficulty. I have just been told by the Minister that this will apply from 1 January to 30 March. Now, I am being told otherwise.

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Health: Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Nov 2012)

Denis Naughten: Yes. I am trying to find out what these figures represent.

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Health: Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Nov 2012)

Denis Naughten: What are they for?