BUPA agrees health deals with hospitals

HEALTHCARE insurer, BUPA, has reached agreement with 72 hospitals to provide potential customers with full cover for all hospital costs. Under the agreement with the private, voluntary and health board hospitals, BUPA members will not have to make top-up payments to cover the cost of their hospital stays.

The British healthcare group plans to launch its products on the Irish market by the end of the year. The company, which will compete directly with VHI for customers, is in the final stages of negotiations with hospital consultants for the provision of services under BUPA plans.

VHI, which has 1.4 million customers, has full cover agreements with 85 hospitals. But VHI customers opting for one of the 18 hospitals within the Independent Hospitals Association of Ireland could have to pay top-up charges to cover their hospital stays. BUPA has reached agreement with some hospitals not providing full cover to VHI customers. These include the Blackrock Clinic in Dublin and the four Bon Secours Hospitals. VHI said that it is currently negotiating full cover arrangements with the Bon Secours Hospitals.

BUPA has not published the full list of hospitals which will provide full cover to potential customers. It has named some of the hospitals involved. Private hospitals involved include St Vincent's Private, The Mater Private Blackrock Clinic in Dublin and the four Bon Secours Hospitals.

BUPA managing director, Mr Martin O'Rourke, said the 72 hospitals involved will provide good national geographic coverage and access to a wide range offacilities and private accommodation". No details of the arrangements involved were disclosed yesterday. Mr O'Rourke said the arrangements with the hospitals were based on agreed lengths of hospital stays for specified procedures and agreements that certain procedures would not require overnight stays.

BUPA will now start to prepare brochures setting out the schemes it will offer, its prices, train its staff and put its systems in place to launch its products by the end of the year, he said. The company has its senior management team in place, has set up headquarters in Dublin and a back office administration operation in Cork employing 40 people.

BUPA has now completed its arrangements for hospital accommodation, he said. The 72 hospitals involved will be enough to cater for BUPA's expected membership in the first stage of its operations in the Irish market, he said. He declined to disclose membership targets describing that information as commercially sensitive".

Meanwhile, the board of the VHI will meet on Thursday, October 17th, to consider recommendations from a sub committee set up to find a new chief executive for the organisation. Mr Brian Duncan is due to leave the company on October 18th.