Tithe an Oireachtais Seventh Joint Committee On
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First report: Voluntary Health Insurance Board. Item Type Legislation Authors Houses of the Oireachtas: Seventh Joint Committee on Commercial State-Sponsored Bodies. Citation Houses of the Oireachtas: Seventh Joint Committee on Commercial State-Sponsored Bodies, 1994. First report: Voluntary Health Insurance Board. Dublin: Houses of the Oireachtas. Publisher Government of Ireland. Download date 03/10/2021 19:22:46 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10147/575272 Find this and similar works at - http://www.lenus.ie/hse , , TITHE AN OIREACHTAIS , ' SEVENTH JOINT COMMITTEE ON . COMMERCIAL STATE-SPONSORED BODIES FIRST REPORT VOLUNTARY HEALTH INSURANCE BOARD " (PD 0408) • TITHE AN OIREACHTAIS SEVENTH JOINT COMMITTEE ON COMMERCIAL STATE-SPONSORED BODIES FIRST REPORT VOLUNTARY HEALTH INSURANCE BOARD (po 0408) • . © Government of Ireland 1994 (i) Table of Contents Orders of Reference (iii) Members of Joint Committee (vii) 1. Summary or Conclusions and Recommendations 1 • Summary of Conclusions 1 Summary of Recommendations 5 2. Background 8 Advisory Body on Voluntary Health Insurance 8 The 1957 Voluntary Health Insurance Act 9 Development of Schemes' of Insurance 10 Developments Since 1979 11 Total Indemnity 13 Risks Not Insured 13 3. Membership or the VHf 14 Growth of VHI Membership 14 Composition of VHI Membership 14 Reasons for VHI Membership 17 Future Market Potential 19 4. Relations between the VHI and Public Sector 21 The VHI's Role in the Health Services 21 The 1957 Act 23 Stable Policy Environment 24 Relations with the Department of Health 24 Tax AJlowability of VHI Subscriptions 26 r (ii) 28 5. Financial Perrormance or the VHI 28 Growth in Claims 1980-92 28 Subscriptions 29 Profitability 30 Liquidity and Solvency 31 Reserves 31 Efficiency 33 • Losses in 1988/89 and Recovery Programme 35 6. Relations with Consultants and Hospitals Consultants 35 Private Hospitals 41 Public Hospitals 45 Relations Between Public and Private Hospitals 46 VHI Cost Control Systems 47 7. Competition and Community Rating 49 Insurance Legislation 49 Risks-and Premiums 50 Regulating for Community Rating 52 Insurance Products 53 Relations with Health Service Providers 53 8. Future Development or the VHI 55 Scope of Activities 55 VHI Ownership and Management of Hospitals 56 Ownership and Control of the VHI 57 Board of Directors 58 Management 58 Acknowledgements 58 Appendices 60 I Glossary of Terms 61 II Statistics on Membership of the VHI 63 III VHI Doctor File of Participating Consultants and Specialists 65 (iii) Orders of Reference Piiil Eireann 7th April. 1993: Ordered: • (1) That a Select Committee consisting of 7 Members of Piiil (2) That, after consultation with the Joint Eireaim (none of whom shall be a Committee; the Minister for Finance member of the Government or a may include from time to time the names Minister of State) be appointed to of further State-sponsored Bodies in the be joined with a select committee to Schedule and, with the consent of the be appointed by Sean ad Eireann to Joint Committee, may delete from the form a Joint Committee (which Schedule the names of any bodies. shall be called the Joint Committee on Commercial State-sponsored (3) That, if .so requested by a State Bodies) to examine - sponsored Body, the Joint Committee (a) the Reports and shall refrain from publishing confidential Accounts and overall information regarding that Body's operational results, activities and plans. and (4) That the Joint Committee shall have (b) in the light of the power to send for persons, papers and reports published records and, subject to the consent of the pursuant to Minister for Finance, to engage the subparagraph (a), the services of persons with specialist or common issues technical knowledge to assist· it for the relating to Board purpose of particular enquiries. responsibility, structure and (5) That the Joint Committee, previous organisation, to the commencement of business, shall accountability and elect one of its members to be Chairman, financing, together who shall have only one vote. with the relationship with central (6) That all questions in the Joint Government and the Committee shall be determined by a Houses of the majority of votes of the members present " Oireachtas and voting and in the event of there of State-sponsored Bodies engaged being an equality of votes the question in trading or commercial activities shall be decided in the negative. referred to in the Schedule hereto and to report thereon to both (7) That the Joint Committee shall have Houses of the Oireachtas and to power to print and publish from time to make recommendations where time minutes of evidence taken before it appropriate. together with such related documents as (iv) it thinks fit. ICC Bank p.l.c. Irish National Stud Company Ltd. Irish National Petroleum (8) That every report which the Corporation Ltd. Joint Committee proposes to make I rish Steel Limited shall, on adoption by the Joint National Building Agency Ltd. Committee, be laid before both Nitrigin Eireann Teo. Houses of the Oireachtas forthwith, Racing Board together with any document relating Radio Telefis Eireann • thereto which it proposes to Temple Bar Properties Ltd. publish, whereupon the Joint Voluntary Health Insurance Board. Committee shall be empowered to print and publish such report and the said document, or documents Seanad Eireann as the case may be. 8th April. 1993: (9) That four members of the Joint Ordered: Committee shall form a quorum, of whom at least one shall be a (1) That a Select Committee consisting member of Dail Eireann and at of 4 members of Seanad Eireann (none least one shall be a member of of whom shall be a member of the Sean ad Eireann. Government or a Minister of State) be appointed to be joined with a Select. Committee to be appointed by D~i1 Eireann to form a Joint Committee SCHEDULE (which shall be called the Joint Committee on Commercial State sponsored Bodies) to examine - . Aer Lingus c;p. t. Aerlinte Eireann c.p.t. (a) the Reports and Accounts Aer Rianta c. p. t. and overall operational (including its subsidiary Great results, and Southem Hotels p.l.c.) ACC Bank p.l.c. (b) in the light of the reports An. Post published pursuant to Arramara Teo. subparagraph (a), the Bord na gCon common issues relating to Bord Gais Eireann Board responsibility, Bord na Mona structure and organisation, Bord Telecom Eireann accountability and Coillte Teoranta financing, together with ; Coras lompair Eireann (including the relationship with its subsidiaries Bus Eireann, Bus central Govemrrtent and Atha Cliath and lamrod Eireann) the Houses of the Custom House Docks Oireachtas Development Authority Ltd. of State-sponsored Bodies engaged in Electricity Supply Board trading or commercial activities referred Housing Finance Agency to in the Schedule hereto and to report (v) thereon to both Houses of the with such related documents as' it thinks Oireachtas and to make fit. recom'mendations where appropriate, (8) That every report which the Joint Committee proposes to make shall, on (2) That, after consultation with the adoption by the Joint Committee" be: laid Joint Committee, the Minister for before both Houses of the' Oireachtas Finance may include from time to forthwith, together with any document • time the names of further State relating thereto which it proposes, to sponsored Bodies in the Schedule publish, whereupon the Joint and, with the consent of the Joint Committee shall be empowered to print Committee, may delete from the and publish such report and the said Schedule the names of any bodies. document, or documents as the case may be. (3) That, if so requested by a State sponsored Body, the Joint (9) That four members of the Joint Committee shall refrain from Committee shall form a quorum, of publishing confidential information whom at least one shall be a member of regarding that Body's activities and Dail Ei reann and at least one shall be a plans. member of Seanad Eireann. (4) That the Joint Committee shall have power to send for persons, papers and records and, subject to the consent of the Minister for SCHEDULE Finance, to engage the services of persons with specialist or technical knowledge to assist 'it for the ,Aer Lingus c. p. t. purpose of particular enquiries. Aerlfnte Eireann c. p. t. Aer Rianta c. p. t. (5) That the Joint Committee, (including its subsidiary Great Southern previous to the commencement of Hotels p.Lc.) business, shall elect one of its ACC Bank p.Lc. members to be Chairman, who An Post shall have only one vote. Arramara Teo. Bord na gCon (6) That all questions in the Joint Bord Gais Eireann Committee shall be determined by a Bord na Mona majority of votes of the members Bord Telecom Eireann present and voting and in the event Coillte Teoranta of- there being an equality of votes Coras lompair Eireann (including its the question shall be decided in the subsidiaries Bus Eireann, Bus Atha negative. Cliath and larnrod Eireann) Custom House Docks (7) That the Joint Committee shall Development Authority Ltd. have power to print and publish Electricity Supply Board from time to time minutes of Housing Finance Agency evidence taken before it together ICC Bank p.Lc. (vi) Irish National Stud Company Ltd. Irish National Petroleum Corporation Ltd. Irish Steel Limited National Building Agency Ltd. Nitrigin Eireann Teo. Racing Board Radio Telefis Eireann Temple Bar Properties Ltd. • Voluntary Health Insurance Board. (vii) MEMBERS OF .JOINT COMMITfEE Deputy Liam Kavanagh, Chairman " Paul McGrath, Vice-Chairman " Michael Ahern " Raphael Burke " Michael Finucane " Seamus Kirk " Desmond O'Malley Senator Frank Fahey " Michael Finneran " Shane Ross " lack Wall 1. Summary of Conclusions and Recommendations Summary of Conclusions Background 1.1 The Voluntary Health Insurance Board' (VHI) was set up in 1957 in order to: e provide health insurance for those not entitled to free services under the Public Health Acts; • encourage people who did have such entitlements to provide for themselves and thus alleviate the burden of health care on the Exchequer.