Health insurance plan to be ready by summer, says Varadkar

It is possible to get to a point where more than half the population has voluntary health insurance, Minister for Health Leo Varadkar has said.

Mr Varadkar said he intends to go to Government with a “roadmap” for health insurance by the summer.

Many people consider health insurance as important as having motor tax or home insurance, he told RTÉ radio.

He also said he was “increasingly confident” that free GP care will be available for children under the age of six by the summer.

“We’re at a very sensitive point in the talks at the moment,” he said, but “I’m increasingly confident that we will be able to offer this service by the summer”.

Mr Varadkar said the service won’t be compulsory and that doctors would be able to opt out. It will apply to all children under six, including those who have a medical card.

The Minister was also questioned about expense claims and overpayments in the HSE.

Asked about a draft report from the Comptroller and Auditor General outlining apparent staff overpayments as well as expensive hospitality claims, Mr Varadkar said the health service would pursue money in cases of overpayment. “They’re obliged to do that,” he said. “Even if it was the HSE’s own mistake.”

He said most of the expense claims apply to doctors attending conferences but he added that doctors should be respectful of the fact that they are claiming taxpayers money in these instances.

On reports that the Taoiseach is considering created a junior ministerial portfolio for drugs, Mr Varadkar said it should be a cross-departmental job, taking in Health and Justice.