Paul Murphy
Ceist:33. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Health if he will report on the expected take-up of health insurance by persons under 34 years of age; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14709/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThursday, 16 April 2015
Ceisteanna (33)
Freagraí scríofa
Community rating, reflecting the principle of intergenerational solidarity, is a fundamental cornerstone of the Irish health insurance market. Under community rating, the level of risk that a particular consumer poses to an insurer does not directly affect the premium paid. Premiums for younger or healthier lives are typically higher than their expected claims would require, whereas for older or less healthy lives, premiums are typically lower than the expected claims would require.
Community-rated insurance markets depend on a continuing entry of younger people, to help keep premium prices down for everybody. Lifetime Community Rating (LCR) is being introduced to encourage people to take out private health insurance at a younger age, thereby helping to spread the costs of older and less healthy people across the market, to support affordable community-rated premiums for everyone who wishes to purchase insurance. It is a necessary measure to help support the viability of community rating within our system of private health insurance, as without it there will be a continued deterioration in the age profile of the insured population, which in turn will contribute to claims inflation and higher insurance premiums for all.
There are a number of weeks remaining before the introduction of Lifetime Community Rating. All residents in this State during the grace period, who choose to wait until after 30 April 2015 to purchase private health insurance, will be subject to the provisions of the LCR regulations. I would encourage anybody who is considering purchasing health insurance to do so in advance of the new rules coming into force. Any increase in the number of younger insured persons will have a positive impact on the market as a whole as it will help to make health insurance more affordable for all.