BUPA ruling ‘could spark real price competition’

THE High Court’s decision to reject BUPA’s claim that risk equalisation was anti- competitive and illegal could kick-start real price competition in the health insurance market, a consumer watchdog said yesterday.

Irish Consumers’ Association chief executive, Dermott Jewell, said it is now open season for Irish health insurers, to determine who is going to provide the best service at the best price.

But he also warned that the outcome could also be similar to the lifting of the ban on below-cost selling that failed to influence supermarket prices.