Vol. 562 No. 6
43 Mr. S. Ryan asked the Minister for Health and Children when he intends to bring the promised draft regulations on risk equalisation within the health insurance industry before the Houses of the Oireachtas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6658/03]
My Department has completed the preparation of a draft risk equalisation scheme to be submitted for approval by each House of Oireachtas at an early date. In advance of this a short Bill that makes further provision relating to the Health Insurance Authority and to risk equalisation has recently been initiated in the Seanad.
The current position is that BUPA Ireland has made a complaint to the EU Commission and the EU's Competition Directorate General is considering a detailed submission made by my Department in response. This submission makes the case in relation to the necessity for risk equalisation in a market operated on the basis of community rating, open enrolment, and lifetime cover, and that it does not constitute State aid under EU competition rules. The timetable for bringing the draft scheme to the Houses of the Oireachtas will be determined in the light of the outcome of these latest deliberations at EU level.
