Irish Life Health has announced its second price increase since the beginning of the year with the company saying it will hike costs to its customers by an average of 5.9 per cent starting from the beginning of April.
The increase comes just weeks after it said it was increasing its prices by an average of 5 per cent, with that hike taking effect from the start of January. The latest move is likely to leave many families worse off by in excess of €300 a year.
The company said the latest increase was a consequence of continuing medical inflation and the risk equalisation levy charge announced by the Government which takes effect at the start of April.
[ Cantillon: Why has Irish Life Health hiked its prices four times in a year?Opens in new window ]
“Increases in the cost of delivering healthcare continue to be a challenge for health insurers and these rising costs are outpacing general inflation, Irish Life Health’s managing director Ann Marie Nestor said. “Consequently, the price of medical care, medicines and treatments is increasing at a higher rate than everyday household expenses.”
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She suggested that the nature of customer claims has “evolved” with more customers having access to “specialised treatment, using more sophisticated and in many cases, more expensive technology.”
She cited the example of newer cancer treatments which are more targeted and effective, and can mean fewer side effects, fewer hospital admissions, and better long-term survival.
“For patients and families, that can make a very real difference to day-to-day wellbeing and long-term outcomes. But naturally, they do come at a higher cost to deliver. Just five years ago a typical treatment session for many common cancers might have cost around €3,000. Today, that same session can be closer to €9,000 when newer medicines are used.”
She said the company’s aim was to “align pricing with the benefits our members use and the underlying cost of providing those benefits. As the claims environment continues to evolve rapidly, we have introduced pricing adjustments on a phased basis to ensure members are charged fairly.”
She also pointed to the upcoming change in Government levy and said that if someone is paying a premium of €1,700 per annum, the levy will now account for 30 per cent of that premium.
“These changes in conjunction with the increase in claims is further reason why the Risk Equalisation Scheme needs to be fundamentally reviewed by the Health Insurance Authority,” she said.
According to health insurance expert Dermot Good of healthinsuranceireland.ie the average hike announced will cost anything from €75 to €238 for one adult on mid-level plans or higher and could cost a typical family an extra €180 to €330 for the year
“Whilst some plans will not increase, we understand that the highest increase on certain plans will be up to 11 per cent,” he said.
He said the change was expected “but we are surprised by the size of the increase, given that their last rate change was in January just gone. It comes on the back of more increases across the market from Level Health, VHI and Laya.”
Goode said it would “add more pressure to hard-pressed consumers and many will have no option but to shop for better value”.
He reminded people to “ignore the average figures and check the actual impact” on specific pans and warned that there could be more than one increase coming Irish Life Health policy holder’s way as its rates were adjusted last October and also in January.
“The ongoing cycle of regular price hikes looks set to continue through 2026. There is a real risk now that many members especially those on the lower level plans could be priced out of the market,” he said.
Meanwhile Level Health, the smallest player in the market said its “advanced” Plans B, C &, D would be going up by €48 In April to match the rising cost of the health insurance levy for the majority of private health insurance plans.
It said the cost increase imposed by the Government “is unnecessary, and is blindly following a strategy that just increases the levy on health insurance customers almost every year, increasing from €160 when it was introduced in 2009 to an unsustainable €517 in 2026.”
