QUINN HEALTHCARE is to increase the cost of its premiums by an average of 12 per cent from next year.
The move, which will add more than €200 annually to the cost of an average premium for a family of four, is the second price increase announced by the State’s second largest health insurer this year.
The company, which has more than 400,000 subscribers, blamed the latest round of increases on the health insurance levy, which it claims will cost it more than €100 million from 2009.
It said the State-imposed levy added €205 to the policy of every adult and €66 to each child’s policy. Changes to age-related tax relief, where relief for 50- to 59-year-olds was most recently removed, has also had a significant impact on the cost to the business, it said.
The insurer also claimed the cost of private beds in public hospitals and the higher cost of a range of medical treatments had meant the increases were unavoidable. It said its public hospital spend was up 18 per cent for this year alone and said the cost of private beds in public hospitals had climbed by 21 per cent.
“There have been significant advances in technologies, medical devices and new drugs in critical areas such as cardiac and cancer care,” the company said in a statement. “Although this is having a very positive impact on our customers’ lives, these treatments come at significant cost to the organisation.”
It claimed that in spite of the increases it remained “the most competitive choice for health insurance” and said it offered consumers “the lowest-cost entry point product available in Ireland”.
The cost of Quinn Healthcare’s Essential Health policy for a single adult rises from €767 a year to €865, while the cost of the same policy for two adults and three children, one of whom is a third-level student, climbs from €2,149 to €2,366, an increase of €217 a year.
Prices will change on various dates beginning on January 1st, 2012, and will come into effect for consumers on their policy renewal dates. In April, Quinn Healthcare announced average price increases of 6 per cent on all its policies.
The VHI announced a 2 per cent price rise earlier this month on top of price increases of up to 45 per cent announced in January.
For its part, Aviva announced a price increase of 14 per cent in March.
Chief executive of the Consumers’ Association of Ireland Dermott Jewell described the timing of the announcement as “abhorrent”, but said it was unsurprising.
He said the latest price increase would add to the “pile of horrendous increases” that have hit consumers this year. It could be the final straw for many people and would drive them out of the private health insurance market, he said. “A lot of people will try to find alternatives, but many will have gone to Quinn in recent months as a last resort and will now have run out of options when it comes to affordability.”
The Irish Patients’ Association expressed concern at the increases and said they could be the “tipping point” which would drive many people out of the private health insurance market.
PRIVATE HEALTHCARE PREMIUMS RISE
6%
The increase on Quinn policies announced last April
2%
Increase announced this month by VHI – on top of price rises of up to 45 per cent announced in January.
14%
Increase by Aviva last March