This article is from page 59 of the 2008-08-05 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 59 JPG
FARMERS in Clare may no longer be able to afford health insurance for themselves and their family due to the collapse of community rating.
SUITE KMOelomm Yc DUObrOrcamseKOee me Daa Farm Family Chairperson, Mary Sherry, who last week called on the Minister for Health and the Govern- ment to urgently take “whatever leg- islative steps are necessary” to pro- tect community rating in the Health Insurance market.
“The recent Supreme Court ruling in relation to risk equalization has left every family with health insur-
ance in Ireland vulnerable to inflated and unaffordable health insurance, as they get older,” she said.
“It is wrong to suggest this ruling will benefit younger people in favour Ome) G
“We all get old and while our chil- dren today may benefit marginally from cheaper health insurance, they will face the same dilemma of not being able to afford to maintain their health insurance cover, as they get Oeloe
“In effect, health insurance will be- come the prevail of the minority and this is totally unacceptable.
‘The only winners in this Supreme
Court ruling will be profit driven in- surance companies who will cherry pick the young, taking excessive profits out of the market place and leaving the industry starved of the necessary resources to support the old and sick in the future.”
Sherry said that IFA has approxi- mately 25,000 families in its health insurance group and because of their age profile, being in the middle to old age category, one insurance group currently operating in the Irish market showed little or no interest in quoting for the group.
“If this Supreme Court ruling is not addressed, there will be inevitable
cherry picking of customers and the vulnerable will pay the biggest price in the short term but every family will pay in the long term,’ she con- mbOLeCoem
“We have a health insurance sys- tem that has served Irish families well for decades and it is now up to the Minister Mary Harney and the Government to address the problems CAKer Kerem ON MADR MUO EDTA
“Tf risk equalization is abandoned then community rating will unravel and health insurance in this Country will become unaffordable for vast majority of families in Ireland,” she added.