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MINISTER JAMES REILLY today unveiled his ambitious plan for Universal Health Insurance in Ireland which will mean every man, woman and child will have health insurance – subsidised by the State.
A public consultation process on the package proposed today was also launched with Taoiseach Enda Kenny urging “as many people as possible” from health professionals to ordinary members of the public to have their say.
He described the process as a “very important step in informing people, in giving them the necessary details and comfort that they need to know what the change is going to mean for them in their lives”.
The most important issue for the public is always going to be the cost of the package and the government has been criticised for failing to provide any estimates on this. In his media briefing today, Reilly said there was no way of knowing how much costs would amount or how high taxes would be in 2019 but gave the average €920 private health insurance premium in 2013 as an example.
He said that if all proposed UHI efficiencies were in place and this had been implemented last year, it would be likely that the average premium would have been lower than this amount. He also said average waiting lists would have been much lower and close to accepted standards in other European countries.
The winners
Under the plan, there will be three groups given different subsidies
Reilly said he thinks the “winners” will be the people above medical card income but who can’t afford insurance now as they will have free GP care and “access to timely care in our hospital system that wasn’t prev available”.
Under the current proposals, a person would be able to opt for lower premiums with greater payments when they do use healthcare services if they feel they do not need higher cover. Reilly said this option would be particularly attractive to younger people who previously decided not to invest in any insurance at all.
Consultation
TheJournal.ie asked the minister how effective he thought the public consultation process on this plan would be considering people have not been given a breakdown of exactly how much it would cost them or the State:
He responded that the public would be consulted on the nature of the basket and how it can be implemented.
“I don’t think it’s possible to answer the question you’ve asked in terms of I can’t predict what the cost is going to be…”
Reaction
Fianna Fáil Health Spokesperson Billy Kelleher was critical of the lack of costing in the proposals. He said his party “would be very concerned that assumptions that are in this document will mean that insurance will cost families an awful lot more in the years ahead”.
The one thing you would expect from a government who for three years have been talking about this as a central plank of their policy is that they would actually have detailed costings in there so that we could have a discussion on it and society at large and people at large would know what health insurance would cost n view of the fact that this is going to be compulsory.
Sinn Féin’s Caoimhghín Ó’Caoláin said a consultation of eight weeks is a “insult” and described the document was “fundamentally flawed”. He also criticised the of the lack of information in the document about the basket of services that will come under UHI and which conditions would not be covered.
A series of fully costed options will be reviewed by the Oireachtas Health Committee next year after the public consultation process is over. Anyone who wishes to take part in the process can find information on the Department of Health’s new website.
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Cant manage the HSE or control its budget. So irish solution make a new tax and pretend the old tax is for something else.
the “old tax” is for the bondholders, the new taxes are to pay for existing services
He can f right off
So it would cost me €4000 for my house. I would need to earn €8000 which is €153 a week I would need of a pay rise. Please go and vote these fools out please please please
I thought my PRSI was an insurance policy that also covered emergency medical cover.
Does this mean they’ll reduce it. Somehow I doubt it.
This is the Dutch system, not cheap at all for working class. Great deal for the wealthy.
The monthly premium for the mandatory health insurance is approximately around € 100 (2014). Besides the monthly premium you need to pay the policy excess. The policy excess concerns healthcare costs that are not reimbursed. The government determined that the excess for 2014 amounts to € 360. Medical costs that exceed this sum and are covered by your health insurance will be paid by the insurer.
I wonder what % of Dutch people are subsided? And by 2019 Europe will have recovered and us variable rate holders will be at the mercy of other government owned organisation.
Will this mean no prsi to pay ?
No you’ll be paying that too along with the USC and these will probably be increased aswell!
I swear to god that man is getting more and more like a werewolf everyday!
So we’ll be paying an extra tax for the same sub- standard health service. What a con.
John,
You’ve hit it on the head, but no matter after all an extra 929.00 pa won’t hurt any of us. I expect it’ll be more though after all who’s running it? And they’ve been really effective at budgeting, haven’t they?
Who ? Bag puss ?
“From health professionals to NORMAL members of the public”
So basically doctors and nurses are weird?
What’s the bets on it being called “OReilly Care” did they just copy and paste this model from the U.S.?
Or will the Department of Health spend millions of Euro on Advisers first and then copy and paste. Careful now that America don’t sue you for plagiarism.
€920 a year Mr Reilly…is that all? Jeeze put me down for two so…..just in case I get doubly sick!
For a moment there I thought it was going to be really expensive and unaffordable!!!
€920 a year is a small amount to pay for healthcare. There are people in the U.S. paying pretty close to that per month.
I will pay more than I do at the moment and I will get less in return, at least when FF shafted you they used some lube
So basically those that pay for everything will get f**k all and will be forced to pay what they had to give up in the first place (VHI) because they couldn’t afford it. This country is slowly sucking the will to live out of me.
Depressingly, it’s speeding up.
I earn less then €200 p.w yet I do pay tax & prsi & usc.. but am above threshold for medical card by about €10.00 & they want me to take health insurance from my wages.. no fecking thanks… I don’t get sick & if I have to go to doctor I pay €50.00 like anyone that has no health insurance… Should be your choice if you want to opt for it or not, I’m barely surviving on the breadline as it is without any more charges added to my outgoings…
Have to agree with you. Let people pay something towards their medical costs.
Man I’m beginning to hate this country, this smacks of a ponzi scheme for the baby boomers and pharmaceutical companies.
its great to have a health minister obese. just looking at his face has my stomach turning and my blood boiling.
I think it will be a long long time before anyone who can afford private health insurance will say “okay no need for this anymore, the HSE has me covered”
The government can barely run the post office I wouldn’t let them near my health.
What sort of nonsense is this? He’s bringing in USI, he has no idea what it will cost, except he believes it will be cheaper than what people may be paying now – further, there will be “extra items” to pay? This is an absolute outrage. Whilst I am not against the idea of some sort of USI, the least that could have been done was to cost the scheme before bringing it forward. I also note that once again we will be put into the hands of private companies, instead of a proper national scheme operated by the State.
Sorry, typo – UHI
State co. like V.H. I , Rehab. Etc. great,long live private enterprise.
Only €5,500 for my family.
Not too bad.
Could I trade in a kidney?
That’s only done in private rooms. You will need additional coverage for that.
A kidney would probably only cover one year, given current black market prices (so I’m told). Although the wife and kids could contribute to cover another couple at least… And who needs two eyes, two lungs or a substantial portion of liver..?!
F&uk this country, I seriously think now iv had enough! This is a joke that we have no control.
€920 per year amounts to c. €17 per week. As it stands, I have approximately €10 left at the end of every week. From next year we will have new charges in the mandatory broadcast charge replacing the TV licence as well as water rates. I don’t have a TV so don’t pay the TV licence. The TV licence is €160 per year and water rates are expected to be €300 per year. That’s a total of €460 in new deductions from my wage, or c. €9 per week. As it stands, from next January onwards I’ll only have €1 left per week (not counting inflation). How am I supposed to pay the extra €17 health insurance on top of that. I don’t even need it as I haven’t been sick in several years. Rather than introducing this cr*p, why don’t they just cut the excess from the HSE. It is completely top-heavy with unnecessary management.
Cut back on the fags and booze :)
Cut back on being a dick Bobby
If this proposal was brought on Dragons den they would be laughed off Im starting to think this is the step towards being an American style system rather than the Dutch Model they prattled on about during the pre election spin. So when the health care for all comes into effect you will have a group of people who will be able to pay extra for more services. Goodbye 2 tiered system hello new 2 tiered system. What a load of balls
Wait until it’s up and running,then it will be like prescription charges up up up and up,then comes privatetition, it will be like USA health insurance system 2/3s of the country can’t afford to see a doctor and you’ll need a mortgage to get hospital care.
So he says we will pay less than €920 p.a. for medical insurance to avail of free services. Is that not a contradiction?
Not willing to pay a grand a year on top of what I already pay…. I wouldn’t mind, however, subsidizing Mr Reilly the price of a haircut and a bar of soap out of my own pocket
This is going to cost people an absolute fortune if you require treatment. You can bet the insurance companies will pay so much and you the idiot cough up the rest. Absolute disaster.
We already pay taxes to subsidise health care. I cant afford private insurance so how am I gonna afford this? Yet again the middle earner will be f*cked.
We also pay water levies, but so what, we’ll pay again!
I would be concerned that the insurance cost will subvent poorly performing and inefficient public hospitals rather that lean / efficient private ones. There are a lot of lifers in public hospitals and lots of unnecessary red tape.
In one Dublin public hospital where they have a section that the staff call the zoo. Its filled with people who cant/wont do any useful work but have provided no basis to be sack…they just hang around and empty a few bins etc… this situation wouldn’t happen in a private company. Also VHI will be one of the private insurance companies mandated for the schame. This company is top heavy and inefficient… so this Universal system will be designed to save them.
So the question is, if the UHS is created will the money be squandered ? … Most probably
I taught a percentage of prsi went to our health
Surly to god if you smoke or drink to excess you should pay more than somebody who looks after themselves.. The only medical expense I have is the GP maybe twice a year..
Those who smoke or drink would likely die earlier meaning less of a pension to pay them if they kick the bucket 3 or 4 years after retiring. It is those carrot eating folk who will live to 100 who will break the system!
The older generation will have to contribute more. Pensions are very generous in this country and the older generation who are using the medical system more need to be contributing more.
With water charges and now this to come the ordinary working class folk are in trouble.
So if you pay for health insurance currently it is “only” going to cost you around the same amount but you will lose any of the benefits of jumping queues etc which, let’s face it, is the reason most have health insurance currently.
If you don’t have health insurance currently then chances are it’s because you can’t afford it so where exactly does he think that money will come from?
The difference in salary between being eligible for the medical card and being able to actually afford health insurance is pretty vast and these are the people who are already bring screwed from all sides as it is.
As for waiting lists – I’m currently waiting for two different consultant appointments on the public system. Referrals went in 6 and 7 months ago and still no appointment date received. If I went privately I could probably have an appointment in a week or two but I can’t afford that. So if we are all paying for health insurance we all end up on the same waiting list which is currently chronic … The only people to benefit from this is the doctors and the paper pushers in the HSE I think!
I wouldn’t trust that man to run a corner shop.
Typical Reilly stroke announcing a plan with out any costing involved. Alice in wonderland stuff yet again from him….
Even if this was a well through, costed plan the fact remains that there are waiting lists and lack of consultants in several areas. How would this solve these problems? Would take priority on the lists? Health insurance should be optional not compulsory. Households are squeezed enough as it is and water charges are yet to come.
It will cost you your soul once you are microchipped….
Picture says it all, smell of bullsh1t lingers. No mention that FG would have to be elected into government again in 2016 but I supposes O’Reilly believes that is a given anyway. Even if this plan was perfectly presented by the time this minister had finished playing stroke politics, we would have another reason for a vote of no confidence in n government minister.
Seen this while living in the States. Doesn’t work there. So many can’t afford basic medical treatments. Prices skyrocketed. While we constantly spoke of property prices their convos were health insurance. Now I understand.
With all due respect f*ck off Reilly.
If I wanted health insurance I would buy it, but because of the balls this and the last government have made of the country I can’t afford it. Even that €900 you seem to think is buttons.
Just f*ck off and take your bullsh1t with you.
The Irish seem to think Obamacare was a great idea.
Yet are against its implementation here?
Odd.
Very true. $600 a month is cheap over there apparently!
so what happens if you get health insurance via work, do you still end up paying for this universal health care?
KennyKare
O’ReillyCare
Every press in Ireland will be stuffed with medicines got free because it’s free with medical card not because they are “needed”
They are nor free. There is a subsidised charge for medical card patients.
Keith its 50 cent per item. Ffs try and pay 335 for a sick 8 month old all because we go to work.
Ann it’s €2.50 per item.
I have a medical card and I’m working.
What will anybody do.?
So just shut up and pay whatever ever they tell you to.!
And everybody will, because they are afraid not to.
Still taking from the average worker and the poor yet the rich allowed get richer. More tax and you can’t even get a ambulance. The government need to come back to the real world and look at all there false pre election promises .
The failed GP strikes again with half baked nonsense!
When will that morbidly obese moron finally be sacked?
It is absolutely unbelievable how that shower of useless idiots is allowed to run a country!
I wouldn’t trust any of these feckers to clean my toilet let alone giving them any kind of responsibility!
Proposed efficiencies? Why wait till 2019? Interesting that private insurance today contributes 12% of income. Every penny of which has been paid from funds post taxation. This will never see the light of day.
I find it quite weird that you have to pay for public healthcare. In Spain we have a completely free public healthcare system that is way better than the Irish. And taxes are on par if not lower.
…and they wonder why SF are doing so well in the polls, with stuff like this expect the shinners to have an overall majority come election time,
and they Have the cheek to say that SF are economic illiterates, go figure?
Hopefully this goes as well as Obamacare.
Idiot.
Christ Almighty ,we had to give up our private health insurance , and it was less than that amount ! Must have another talk with my friendly bank manager !
That’s more than my private health insurance
There he is on tv at 18.29 saying it is 1919 ha I knew he was behind the times
I would happily pay 10 to 15% of my income towards a high quality health service for all.
I agree – and I mean everyone \ social \ pensioners – the lot. Anyone with private insurance is already paying that. No middleman insurance companies. And government takes responsibility.
Are we not paying for the health service already? If we are paying by UHI, how much rebate will we get from our taxes?
Wonder will certain occupations be exempt,
have your say