200,000 policyholders will quit over recession, says VHI

IRELAND’S largest private health insurer has warned that up to 200,000 people will quit their policies by the end of next year as a direct result of the crippling economic downturn, forcing a sharp rise in premium prices.

While more than two million people across the country have private health insurance, VHI has claimed that the sector will plummet by 10% within the next 16 months due to the deepening financial and employment crisis.

Between January and the end of July the major health insurer — which has a 66% share of the Irish market — has seen 70,000 policy holders quit their cover, due in part to customers cutting back on services to save money. A VHI spokeswoman said that coupled with the still rising unemployment rate, which now stands at more than 12% of the workforce, the trend will see up to 200,000 people leave their health insurance policies by the end of next year. And with the major crisis looming for the sector, patient groups have warned the situation could throw the beleaguered health service into further turmoil — with an increase in premiums, concerns over the need for co-located hospitals, and increased pressure on an already overstretched public system now on the cards.