John Kelly (Labour) | Oireachtas source

Like Senator Crown, I raise the issue of the private health sector. I am concerned about what the Senator said because I changed my insurance over to GloHealth this year to save myself some money and it is a major concern for people who are changing insurance providers because they do not read the small print. I did not read the small print and was unaware of the issue Senator Crown raised.

I wish raise an issue relating to the insurance company I left. I was listening to Joe Duffy's radio show yesterday and a man announced that after his wife had had an operation in Beaumont Hospital and spent two nights there, he had received a bill for nearly €17,000 for her two nights' accommodation in the hospital. The bill for the operation and all the other ancillary services provided came to €1,200. When his daughter came home from America she thought this was incredible, so she phoned the insurance company in question and said she had a similar problem and needed to get it dealt with and that she did not have private health insurance but was prepared to go private. She asked how much a bed in the hospital would cost for her and they told her it would be between €700 and €900 per night, as distinct from what her mother paid, which was €8,500 per night. We need the Minister to come to the House and clarify why insurance companies can have deals with private hospitals which mean the taxpayer pays more for private health insurance because we have to fund this excess and waste in the system.