€700k of taxpayers money spent on shelved Universal Health Insurance reports

Almost €700,000 of mainly taxpayers’ money was spent on a series of reports examining a model of universal health insurance (UHI) which the Government has admitted will never get off the ground.

Four separate reports were commissioned on the topic, three by the Government and one by the Health Insurance Authority (HIA), the private health insurance market regulator.

Asked by the Irish Examiner for a breakdown of the figures, the Department of Health said it incurred costs of €211,972 in connection with the preparation of the white paper on UHI. It said the main elements of expenditure related to:

• Legal research and advisory services on technical aspects of UHI (€141,450);
• Costs associated with the public consultation on the white paper (€56,637);
• The remaining costs totalling €13,884 included Irish translation services for UHI publications, costs associated with the UHI Implementation group and travel costs for international experts.

The department said the figure of €211,972 “is exclusive of normal staffing costs”.

A report by the Economic and Social Research Institute entitled An Examination of the Potential Costs of Universal Health Insurance in Ireland cost an estimated €320,000.

The department said it was undertaken as part of a three-year programme of research agreed between the ESRI and the department.

The agreed average annual cost of the three-year programme is €393,000.

“The estimated cost of the report is €320,000 approximately,” it said.

Billy Kelleher: ‘Deep down they knew scheme wasn’t working.’

A second ESRI report entitled Income-Related Subsidies for Universal Health Insurance Premia: Exploring Alternatives Using the SWITCH Model, cost an estimated €90,000.

The department said it was undertaken as part of its membership of the steering group of the SWITCH (Simulating Welfare and Tax Changes) Research Programme.

A fourth report, UHI Premia Costing Report, prepared by KPMG on behalf of the HIA, cost €55,350.

Fianna Fáil’s Billy Kelleher said it was “extraordinary the Government would spend so much on a scheme that deep down they knew wasn’t working”.

“They had no actual plan in terms of implementation, and only after committing to it did they carry out due diligence. They spent close to €700,000 of taxpayers’ money and the upshot is they still have no plan,” he said.