Cheaper health insurance ‘on way’

THE termination of a long-standing deal whereby consultants collectively negotiated their fees with health insurance providers will mean lower costs for two-million subscribers, according to the Competition Authority.

The authority said consultants are set to pull out of the “total cover” scheme after an investigation found it was illegal.

Under the agreement, doctors received a higher-than-normal fee for each procedure from the insurance company as long as they did not send a balance or top-up bill to the subscriber. Doctors receive up to €200 million each year from the VHI as part of its fee agreements.