Written answers

Tuesday, 12 May 2015

Department of Health

Health Insurance Community Rating

Photo of Niall CollinsNiall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail)
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512. To ask the Minister for Health the reason that persons who have health insurance as a benefit of their employment, but whose insurance is provided by an insurer that is not included in the list of recognised health insurer providers, could have to pay Lifetime Community Rating loadings, in the event that they change employer, and no longer receive such benefits from such an insurer. [18641/15]

Photo of Leo VaradkarLeo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The new Lifetime Community Rating system, which came into operation on 1 May 2015, is designed to encourage people to join the private health insurance market at an earlier age and thus support affordable community-rated premiums for everyone who wishes to purchase insurance. Since 1 May, ‘late entry loadings’ apply for those aged 35 and over who did not purchase health insurance prior to that date. There are exemptions available for people who previously had health insurance but cancelled it. A credited period can apply for any periods of inpatient cover where a full adult premium rate has been paid. In such cases, the level of loading will then be reduced by the relevant credited period(s).

These credited periods apply for periods of health insurance cover purchased with registered health insurers in this country. Periods of cover on health insurance plans held outside the State will not be taken into account when calculating loadings, as such plans do not comply with health insurance legislation or the key principles of community rating, open enrolment, lifetime cover and minimum benefit on which the Irish private health insurance regulatory system is based. In addition, providers of health insurance schemes based outside the State are not registered with the Health Insurance Authority, the statutory regulator of the health insurance market, and have not obtained a certificate of registration from the Authority under Section 14 of the Health Insurance Act, 1994.

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