Health funding - Insurers must pay up

SO much about our two-tier, if not three-tier, health service is in limbo; a murky halfway house between private and public provision.

So many of those whose needs could not be met by the public sector were, at great expense, transferred to the private sector. This is a conflict of interest, and it was inevitable that the practice would be reviewed. The fact that our hospitals are owed nearly €200 million from private patients because of delays in, or complications with, insurance warrants another review.

Whatever the reason, this is unacceptable. Our health service finances are already precarious enough. After all, the insurers have been paid or they wouldn’t be involved. They cannot be subsidised any longer.