Health insurers unveil offers to revive market

The country’s leading health insurers have announced a series of cash-saving offers to lure back young people — while side-stepping price hikes for the companies themselves.

In a bid to bolster the ailing sector, which lost 65,000 cash-strapped customers last year, Aviva Health has put forward a range of new deals, with Laya and VHI confirming they are set to follow suit.

The policy-switch has been described by insurers as a way to ensure people who are struggling to pay for their health insurance to still be covered.

However, critics have warned they come with a series of potential pitfalls hidden in the fine print.

Among the hidden details are potential extra hospital charges for patients with certain conditions and lack of access to some hospitals.

The latter clause in particular suggests insurers are attempting to avoid new company hikes for public beds called for by Health Minister James Reilly, which are currently the subject of intense sector-department negotiations.

As part of the new deals, Aviva is cutting prices by as much as 20% for procedures that predominantly affect younger customers.

These include its First Focus plan, which at €765 will be €200 cheaper than its rivals offers, and its Family Focus plan, which will now cover children aged five to 17 for €150 a year.

In addition to the cuts, which will see price reductions of up to 20% on most plans, people will be able to remove unwanted parts of their current deals — including having less focus on maternity care.

Laya and VHI have both said they will “shortly” be announcing a range of similar deals that will be linked to “certain public hospitals”, with some commentators suggesting a price war could now be on the cards.

However, independent expert Dermot Goode, of healthinsurancesavings.ie, said customers swayed by the plans should watch out for hidden minefields in the fine print.

Among the potential problems in the already announced Aviva deals are a €150 charge for unexpected hospital attendances, lack of access to certain hospitals, and changes which mean patients will have to pay a contribution towards their treatment for certain conditions.

The latter issue relates to cardiac and orthopaedic care, among other conditions, which mainly affect older patients — indicating the widely known desire of insurers to increase their younger customer base.

While previously flagged, Aviva’s cancellation of access to certain hospitals — including the Bon Secours in Cork and Kerry, Wexford General and Connolly Hospital — are also likely to hit patients in rural areas.

The hospital services reduction also suggests insurers are preparing to side-step Dr Reilly’s plans to charge them more for using beds in public hospitals.

The issue — which could see insurers have to pay out €1,222 a night for a public hospital bed, potentially forcing premium prices higher for their customers — is the subject of ongoing negotiations with the Department of Health.

The changes come just two days after VHI chief executive John O’Dwyer said insurers had to find a way to cut down on costs while keeping premium prices within reach of customers, thereby convincing younger people to stay covered.

It is expected that VHI is planning to follow Aviva and Laya in introducing similar policy price reductions in the coming weeks, although no announcement has been made to date.