The VHI has confirmed it will not cover stays of more than 180 days in the extended care unit of Our Lady's Hospice in Harold's Cross, Dublin. The move could cost the hospice £1.3 million this year.
A VHI spokeswoman said this did not represent any "immediate" change in policy.
The extended care unit caters for people with conditions such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. These conditions require long-term care rather than the acute care which the VHI normally covers.
The spokeswoman said last night that people in the unit could get cover for 180 days in their first year there, but further claims would be refused. She said the annual premium of approximately £300 for each person made it impossible to cover long-term care.
What remains unclear, however, is whether the VHI turned a blind eye to such extended stays in the past. A report in this week's Irish Medical News suggests the VHI's action amounts to a withdrawal of cover. In addition to costing the hospice £1.3 million this year, the VHI policy cost the hospice £300,000 last year, it says.
The VHI spokeswoman told The Irish Times that "in the last couple of years certainly there have been claims refused".
The chief executive of Our Lady's Hospice, Mr Michael Murphy, was at meetings yesterday afternoon and could not be contacted for comment.
The VHI says it may introduce a scheme to cover long-term care, but this would involve people starting to pay premiums at a relatively young age.
The North Eastern Health Board says it has been able to cut waiting lists for orthopaedic treatment (including knee and hip replacements) substantially because of the appointment of a sixth orthopaedic surgeon.
In the year to the end of December, the number of people waiting for the treatment at Our Lady's General Hospital, Navan, fell from 771 to 390.
The public waiting list for orthopaedic treatment in hospitals is as follows (extremely low numbers may indicate the hospital does not specialise in elective orthopaedic treatment): Tallaght, Dublin: 707; St Mary's Cappagh, Dublin: 683; St Mary's Gurranebraher, Cork: 594; Tullamore General, Co Offaly: 469; Merlin Park Regional, Galway: 432; Kilcreene Orthopaedic, Co Kilkenny: 390; Our Lady's General, Navan: 390; Regional Orthopaedic, Croom, Co Limerick: 180; Beaumont, Dublin: 163; Letterkenny General, Co Donegal: 122; Sligo Regional: 110; Mater, Dublin: 104; St Vincent's, Elm Park, Dublin: 50; St James's, Dublin: 23; St Michael's, Dun Laoghaire: 19; Tralee General, Co Kerry: 9; James Connolly Memorial (Blanchardstown), Dublin: 0.
More acute beds may be on the way in Galway, Mayo and Roscommon. A Western Health Board review group is examining the possibility of extra beds to cater for emergency admissions without disrupting planned, non-urgent treatment.
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