Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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210. To ask the Minister for Health why a person who consistently has had private health insurance, long before the grace period of 30 April 2015 in Northern Ireland, is not assumed to have a continuous period of cover, and is penalised with the extra 2% rating loading that applies to new cover; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17405/16]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Community rating, reflecting the principle of intergenerational solidarity, is a fundamental cornerstone of the Irish health insurance system. This means that people who are old or sick do not have to pay more for health insurance than the young and healthy. Lifetime Community Rating came into effect on 1 May 2015 and 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.

Late entry loadings of 2% per annum now apply for people who buy health insurance for the first time at the age of 35 and older. Previous periods of health insurance cover are taken into account in calculating the loading that may apply to individuals, whereby the level of loading will be reduced by the relevant credited period(s). These credited periods apply for periods of health insurance cover with registered health insurers in this country, taking account of our system of community-rated health insurance.

Periods of cover on health insurance plans held outside the State (including Northern Ireland) will not be taken into account when calculating loadings, as such plans do not comply with private health insurance legislation in Ireland or conform with the key principles of community rating, open enrolment, lifetime cover and minimum benefit on which the Irish private health insurance regulatory system is based. Insurance systems are not directly comparable or related. For example in other health insurance systems the level of risk that an individual presents can directly affect the premium paid, so periods of cover or time served are not directly interchangeable between the different insurance markets that exist.