THE GOVERNMENT is "considering measures" in the context of the forthcoming Finance Bill to keep health insurance affordable for older people, Minister for Health Mary Harney has confirmed.
However, she refused to be drawn yesterday on the detail of these measures after it was reported that older people may be given larger tax breaks on their health insurance premiums in the Bill following the recent Supreme Court decision not to allow risk equalisation.
This meant a plan which would have seen health insurance companies with a younger subscriber base pay money to the VHI to compensate it for having to deal with claims from a larger number of older subscribers could not be acted on.
The scheme was considered necessary by the Government to protect the current system of community rating which means that regardless of age or health status, everybody pays the same for their health insurance.
In the wake of the Supreme Court judgment, there was speculation it would result in older people having to pay up to three times more for their health insurance.
Asked about the issue yesterday Ms Harney said the Government already provided tax support towards private health insurance. "It costs about €340 or €350 million a year. Obviously that will continue. There is no question of that not continuing," she said.
She said as a result of the Supreme Court decision there were huge question marks over community rating, but she and the Government were committed to "using whatever mechanism we can to make sure that we maintain community rating so that older and sicker people can afford health insurance".
The VHI said it would be inappropriate for it to comment until it had seen the details of the proposals in question.