'Community rating' in health

Madam, - Ireland has a community rating scheme for everyone - it's called the health service. All taxpayers contribute to it regardless of their health status.

Private health insurance, in Ireland, allows us to leapfrog over people whose health needs have been - or could be - judged more urgent than our own. And the VHI offers a community rating scheme for well-off folk - the poor folk are not, of course, part of the "community".

While it's one thing for the Government to facilitate health-for-cash queue-jumping, might it not defeat the purpose if those with private insurance have also to subsidise the queue-jumping of other, and potentially sicker, rich folk?

Trying to establish equity in a intrinsically unfair and divisive health system is foolish. Mary Harney should focus on creating equity in a health system that is intended for everyone. - Yours, etc,

MAC MACLACHLAN, School of Psychology, Trinity College, Dublin 2.

© 2008 The Irish Times

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times