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HEALTH INSURER VHI Healthcare is to increase its insurance premiums by up to 12.5 per cent in March this year.
The hike is another in a string of increases by health insurance companies in the past 12 months. This time, families and individuals will see their annual payments jump by an average of 9 per cent in March.
Annual premiums for a family of two adults and two children will increase by between €127 and €281, depending on the plan they are signed up to.
Individual premiums for the popular HealthPlus Access and HealthPlus Extra will rise by €112 and €183 respectively. At €1,364, the cost of the HealthPlus Access plan (formerly known as Plan B) is now 50 per cent more expensive than it was in January 2011.
The HealthPlus Extra premium has risen by 65 per cent in the past 13 months. Up from €986 in January 2011, premium holders will now have to pay €1,644 for a year’s cover.
VHI defended the increase, stating its is necessary to fund the healthcare needs of its customers which have risen by about 15 per cent since 2009.
Chief executive Declan Moran cited an increased demand and higher claims as reasons for the price rise. In 2011, €1.2 billion was paid out to VHI customers.
The average claim is about €980.
Moran added that the decision was taken to ensure the organisation is sustainable as the market contracts. Vhi Healthcare’s private health insurance business is currently loss making.
Today’s price increase is the lowest possible amount we could introduce to ensure we can meet the cost of our customers’ healthcare needs in 2012.”
The company again pressed the line that the market was yet to be equalised as older customers continue to be “significantly loss making”. It called for a “comprehensive risk equalisation scheme” to make it as attractive to insure an older, sicker person as a younger, healthier person.
If this does not happen, the market will continue to segment, it said in a statement.
VHI had previously indicated the price hike, warning that premiums could jump by up to 50 per cent as a result of health reforms outlined in the Budget for 2012. The changes include charging private patients for the use of beds in public hospitals or if they attend the Emergency Department.
Earlier this month, Quinn Healthcare introduced two separate price increases.
Aviva’s health plans are also increasing this month – a third rise in just over a year.
The price increases have been criticised by opposition parties, with Fianna Fáil noting that at least 60,000 people have dropped out of the market in the past 12 months.
About 5,000 people per month are leaving their private schemes, making them dependent on the public health system.
Did you get a letter from the VHI this month regarding your policy? If so, and you’ll like to get in touch about its policy changes and price increases, contact the author on Sinead@TheJournal.ie or the team on tips@thejournal.ie.
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Look at inflation in detail: Most of the rises are down to government controlled, regulated or influenced factors sectors, like health; while other areas outside their control are in price deflation.
Government obesity is killing the country.
Now I’ve got to become a gambler, as I can no longer afford insurance for myself, my partner and our 3 kids.
We are seeing the end days of private health insurance in this country, soon the middle classes will be unable to afford it, and only the wealthy can.
With a rapidly falling customer base the likelihood of one or more of the providers folding is looking more likely. Combine that with the increased pressure on the public system, you’re looking at a disaster in the waiting.
a disaster, How?
They end of private health insurance would be one of the best things ever to happen to help the Health System as a whole, would make consultants treat those on a need basis rather than on who can afford.
Gerard “soon the middle classes will be unable to afford it” I’d take a wild guess that you are middle class (nothing wrong with that) but that comment suggests that you deserve better health care than Working Class who have never been able to afford health insurance.
Sorry Jay, I’m no longer middle class, and private health insurance is gone a long time now.
I agree with you insofar as everyone should have equal access, but that is in an ideal world, which does not exist.
The disaster that is slowly unfolding is an increasing reliance on the ‘public’ service, which simply cannot cope with even the existing numbers.
And, it’s not down to funding, it’s because of mismanagement and lack of patient focus that the public service does not work.
And it will keep going up. people are dropping out of vhi because of costs so those left are covering the short fall in the bank account.
Yhea agree, and I for one am happy as hopefully in the next few years VHI, Aviva and Quinn will shut down due to having no customers. I believe in a healthcare system based on need not on what insurance policy you can afford.
The trolly wholesalers will see a big upturn in sales this year.
We will be setting up M A S H here shortly
Private health insurance is in a negative feedback cycle whereby the health insurance companies are raising premia resulting in people giving up their cover, which in turn increases the cost for remaining members, which in turn leads to the health insurance company raising premia costs and so on….
My wife and I are paying for VHI on a monthly basis and it’s only recently gone from 137 per month to 166 per month for us. With wages falling and price increases coming thick and fast it looks like the numbers giving up their health cover is only going to get worse.
I look forward to hearing of the extra services they’re gonna lay on to justify this increase.
@James I like your comment!!
Health Insurance is not really a necessity. With the amount of money spent on our hospitals, you’d think they could take care of us. I reckon I have saved a few quid, over the past 4 years, not having health insurance.
You never know when you need it. I claimed €6k for tests on my second year no it.
you never need it, if you get really i’ll (cancer etc) you will be taken care of by our health system, it can help with speeding up the process if you are not well (say torn tendant). Most of the bottle neck are created artificially by the health insurance industry as a selling point of the policy.
I agree with Jay.. It might be the best thing that could happen this country, we won’t be renewing our VHI as we can’t afford it anymore… We should all be treated the same and maybe this is the sign of things to come…
Also, many people are now careful about not being over-insured. We were paying for maternity benefit which we no longer needed for about four yrs, simply because we didn’t scrutinize our policy. Consumer savvy is also going to reduce intake for the Health insurers which, of course, in turn will lead to an increase in premiums. We’re not going to win on this one.
if two many drop our of health insurance,public hospitals will be under pressure from people not being admitted to privates.
also public hospitals will lose out on money from insurance companies that supplement their budgets that help them through the year and shortfall on hse budgets
Bit by bit this is becoming a luxury…
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