VHI urges customers to check bills in errors probe

HALF of patient-overcharging claims investigated by VHI Healthcare are upheld, prompting the private health insurer to beef up its special investigations unit (SIU) to clamp down on billing errors.

The health insurer estimates the errors are costing the company about €500,000 annually, double the amount VHI has recouped year on year since the SIU was set up in 2005.

About 2,500 billing statements are queried by customers each year and, of these, half are found to have an issue to answer and funds have been recovered in all of these cases.