Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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710. To ask the Minister for Health if he monitors private health insurance with the objective of the continued implementation of lifetime community rating; if all insurers incur their fair share of the responsibility to provide for patients across the age spectrum; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9769/16]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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My Department and the Health Insurance Authority oversee the maintenance of a competitive and sustainable health insurance market, under the provisions of the Health Insurance Acts 1994 to 2015, and monitor developments on an ongoing basis to ensure that the market is regulated appropriately.

Our community rated market requires a constant influx of younger people to take out health insurance to help keep premium prices down for everybody. Under Lifetime Community Rating late entry loadings apply for people aged 35 and over when taking out health insurance for the first time. This encourages people to take out health insurance at a younger age, and continue to retain it, thereby avoiding loadings and helping to spread the health costs of older and less healthy people across all insured persons. The number of people who currently hold private health insurance is now 2.126 million, or 46% of the Irish population, (end Jan 2016). This includes an increase of 104,667 from January 2015 to January 2016 which contributes positively to controlling premium inflation and thereby helps to keep health insurance affordable for those who wish to avail of it.

The overall insured population increased by 6%. The largest increases occurred for ages under 60, (80%) with the remaining increase being in ages over 60, (20%). The Health Insurance Authority has noted that "the increases at the younger ages in 2015 may reflect the introduction of Lifetime Community Rating and Young Adult Rates. The increase in older ages in 2015 mostly reflects the aging demographics of the insured and general population." In addition, the improvement in the economy has facilitated this boost in membership and contributed to the positive effect on the number of people holding health insurance.

In addition, a robust Risk Equalisation Scheme is also in place to support community rating by equalising risk across the market. All insurers receive payments from the Risk Equalisation Fund in respect of their older and less healthy customers, and this is funded by stamp duties levied on all policies written.

Insurers with less older members are net contributors and insurers with greater older people are net beneficiaries. This market wide support to community rating ensures individuals continue to pay the same net amount for a given health insurance product, keeping health insurance affordable for older and less healthy members.