Sir, – I am starting to get really angered by this whole issue of so- called health insurance.
In its present form it is really just an additional tax on subscribers, effectively massively subsidising the public system.
That is because 99 per cent of those insured have already paid for a public facility in their taxes and thus in effect are being double charged. Charging for the public portion of the cost is only justified if the insured is a foreigner who does not pay tax here.
However, that is only part of the problem.
The other part is the crazy, crazy notion that everyone pays the same regardless of risk.
Leaving out the age and pre-condition elements of the risk, at least 33 per cent of the total health service cost eg, €5 billion out of the €15 billion, is lifestyle-driven.
Surely this is where we should be making savings, and not in the realms of education or care of the disabled?
Thus the sooner we move towards a system where this lifestyle element is reflected in people’s pockets, the better for all, the health of the
over-indulgent and the pockets of the rest of us. – Yours, etc,