STATEMENT BY COUNCILLOR DONIE DALY
Labour Councillor Youghal
Friday, 8th January 2010

VHI INCREASE A FURTHER TURNING OF THE ECONOMIC SCREW ON FAMILIES

The announcement of an increase of 8% in VHI rates represents a further turning of the economic screw on hundreds of thousands of hard-pressed families.

Public sector workers who are experiencing pay cuts of up to 8% and many others in the private sector who have also seen their incomes drop are now going to have to pay even more for VHI cover. This could mean as much as €180 extra per year for a family of four.

In addition, the increase of €25 in the health insurance levy, announced by the Department of Health over the Christmas period, is likely to lead to increases in the rates charged by other private health insurers.

The justification offered by private health insurance for increases over recent years was the rate of inflation.  We are now experiencing significant deflation, but families are still being asked to pay even more.

The net result of this is that we are likely to see a further fall in the number of people with private health insurance and this will, in turn, put more pressure on the public health service. For the first time ever there was a decrease last year in the numbers with private health insurance, with a drop of some 21,000 subscribers in the first nine months of 2009. These increases are likely to increase the rate of decline.  The implications for the health insurance system will be particularly severe if, as suspected, many of those who are leaving the system are younger subscribers.

It is now more evident than ever that our current two tier system of health care is no longer adequate.  Private insurance is increasingly expensive, while public patients still face long waiting times and often unsatisfactory conditions in accessing care.

It is now time to begin the process of the introduction of the system of universal health care, first proposed by the Labour Party in 2002, which is the norm in most European countries.  It is clear that the current system is not working satisfactorily for either public or private patients.

Contact Cllr. Donie Daly (086) 8103886