Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State. Fianna Fáil is happy to support the Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill. The Bill is something akin to a finance Bill or a social welfare Bill, in that it arrives here every November. The measures within are designed to support risk equalisation and to sustain community rating in our health insurance market in order that older citizens and people with illnesses can afford health insurance and are not discriminated against in favour of younger, healthier people. Risk equalisation and community rating is something that Fianna Fáil has always supported. There is a small increase in the levy for advanced cover, with reductions for non-advanced cover. The average annual health insurance premium increased from €935 in 2011 to €1,197 in 2018. The levy for advanced cover increased from €205 to €444 in that time.

While many people would find the health insurance area to be a bit of a minefield, I think that for many citizens who can afford health insurance, the renewal is very confusing. One could be disingenuous and say that it is deliberately constructed that way by insurance companies to confuse people about the plan they are getting. It is a criticism that I regularly get from many people. I do not know how many different plans there are and it is hard to differentiate between one plan and another. I do not know why that is. I would welcome the Minister of State's comments on that. Is there any way that we can insist on plans being more straightforward so that when people renew their health insurance or go to a different provider, the plans are more easily read in order that people can follow exactly what they are getting? I encourage people with any insurance product, especially health insurance since it has become so expensive, to shop around every year and to change provider if necessary. Sometimes we hear stories of people who get a quote from a particular insurance company. When they shop around, get a cheaper quote and go back to the original provider, lo and behold, the figure can be reduced. It goes to show the advantage of shopping around.

Very few in this country can afford health insurance and the cost seems to increase yearly. My thoughts are with those people who cannot afford it. We need to get to having a system where, regardless of whether a person is fit to pay for it, the health service should be equally accessible to all. Unfortunately that is not the case at present. I would be interested in hearing what plans the Government has to arrive at that point.