ANY INCREASE in the price of private beds in public hospitals in next week’s budget will have a significant impact on the cost of health insurance policies and may cause people to let their cover lapse, health insurers warned yesterday.
Their comments came after a report in The Irish Timesrevealed the cost of private and semi-private beds in public hospitals will be increased by 21 per cent in the budget. The increase is expected to raise €75 million for the health service.
The State’s largest insurer VHI said “any increase in the price of a private bed in a public hospital would have a very significant impact and would make the public hospitals very uncompetitive”.
Dónal Clancy, general manager of Quinn Healthcare, said if the cost of these beds is increased it would force increasing numbers of people to give up their health insurance and rely on an already challenged public hospital system.