David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

That is a very important objective even if it has not been matched yet. We would all like an inclusive and encompassing health service for all but I am damned glad I had the VHI and did not have to wait forever like poor unfortunate Susie Long in Kilkenny who basically died from poverty. She was killed because of the lack of services and the fact she did not have cover with an insurance company. That was terrible but I am glad I have VHI cover. Thank God for it and I am glad this Bill will assist that continuing.

There are four main principles in health insurance, namely: open enrolment, which protects the so-called risky customers; lifetime cover, which means that the insured cannot be dumped; minimum benefit, which means that there is exactly that, a minimum level of treatment for everybody; and community rating, which means that health insurers cannot alter their prices based on an individual's current health status. It would be dreadful if one's plan was revised every time one made a claim. That is what happens in some of the other insurance markets. It happens with car insurance. If one puts in a claim, one will get one's claim settled but one's insurance premium will go up. This is an extremely good measure.

The Minister of State defined "community rating" as essentially being "a financial transfer mechanism, whereby money flows from insurers with healthier members to insurers with sicker members". That is splendid. It is a good socialist principle, from each according to its capacity to each according to its needs. That is the real deal. That is what we need in this country-----