Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)

The Bill, when published, provided for the removal of an exemption from section 2 of the health insurance Acts for cash plan type products that also include cover for outpatient and GP services. When the Bill was previously considered here, the Minister advised the House that the change proposed would limit regulation to the minimum necessary to protect the community rated indemnity market and would enable cash plan providers to design their products so as to be exempt from the regulatory framework under section 2(a) of the health insurance Acts or to be subject to only limited regulation.

Having discussed the matter with the Health Insurance Authority and providers in the market in the interim, it was considered desirable to bring forward amendments to the sections of the health insurance Acts covering these exemptions to allow the insurers maximum flexibility while protecting the broader indemnity market. The amendments provide for the amendment of sections 10 and 12 of the health insurance Acts to ensure that contracts that relate to relevant health services — GP and outpatient type services and-or public hospital daily inpatient charges only, with no inpatient indemnity payments — will be exempt from the regulatory requirements that apply to health insurance contracts offering indemnity cover for inpatient services.

Another exemption deals with health insurance cover under an international plan sold to persons moving from one country to another on a temporary basis and which is set out in section 3(b) is being amended. The revised exemption substitutes proposed text for paragraph D of the 2001 Act. The amendments provide for the removal of a cumulative requirement currently contained in the exemption and some additional qualifications limiting exemption to temporary stays for employment purposes. That was an issue welcomed by all Members in the Dáil.