Universal Health Insurance: UHI would see 11% spending increase in health sector

Introducing universal health insurance (UHI) as proposed by Government would drive up healthcare expenditure by up to 11%, a new report reveals.

‘An Examination of the Potential Costs of Universal Health Insurance (UHI) in Ireland’, published today by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), said some of the increase would be attributable to delivering more services to address unmet needs.

However, a major driver would be the additional cost that arises from financing healthcare through multiple, competing insurers who require market margins.