An independent body should be set up to review price increases in the health service, the Irish Patients' Association said yesterday.
Its chairman, Mr Stephen McMahon, expressed concern that "a cosy circle" was operating in the sector following the increase in several health service elements in recent days.
It started, according to Mr McMahon, with many GPs putting up their fees. Then came the announcement that fees for attending casualty without a letter of referral would increase by 26 per cent to €40, and that the threshold for the drug refund payment scheme would increase to €65 from €53.33 on August 1st.
And on Wednesday, the Minister for Health, Mr Martin, granted the VHI a price increase of 18 per cent from this September. He also announced that the charge for private patients in private or semi-private beds in public hospitals would increase by €3 per overnight or day case to €36 from August 1st.
Mr McMahon said the increases "all sort of moved forward in one step" and something had to be done. "I accept every organisation has overheads they have to try and keep a handle on but with the way pricing develops in the health sector, there is a need for some non-vested interest to be in a position to review increases in a manner that satisfies the public that everything is reasonable," he said.
"What we are seeing is health cuts coming in the form of higher charges."
Mr McMahon also said he feared the 18 per cent rise in VHI premiums would result in people dropping health insurance cover altogether, putting more pressure on an already "overstretched" public healthcare system.
This opinion was repeated by Dr Tony O'Sullivan of Patient Focus, who feared those who would be forced to drop cover would be the most vulnerable groups, including the elderly.
The chief executive of the Consumers Association of Ireland, Mr Dermot Jewell, expressed disappointment at the increase in VHI premiums and said there was now an urgent need for Mr Martin to improve the public health service for those who could no longer afford private health insurance.
A spokesman for the Health Insurance Authority, which was established last year, said the authority was concerned at continuing medical inflation in the Irish market and the increases in Irish health insurance premiums.
"A key role of the authority is to advise the Minister on health insurance generally and to this end it will initiate research into medical inflation in the Irish market. Decisions regarding VHI price increases are, however, the Minister's responsibility."