Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 January 2026
882. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health if his Department will consider abolishing levies on private health insurance for old age pensioners; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4158/26]
View answerAs Minister for Health, I have responsibility for the legal framework governing the health insurance market in Ireland. This is a voluntary market operating under the principles of community rating, open enrolment, lifetime cover and minimum benefit. Community rating ensures that everyone can buy the same policy at the same price, regardless of age, gender or health status. In a risk-rated market, older and sicker people would pay much more for health insurance than they do in a community-rated market.
Community rating is enabled through the Risk Equalisation Scheme. Under the Scheme, funds are redistributed in the form of credits to compensate insurers for the additional cost of insuring older and less healthy members. The credits are funded by a stamp duty levy paid into the Risk Equalisation Fund by health insurance providers for each policy issued. Risk equalisation credits and stamp duty levies are carefully calibrated to ensure that the Risk Equalisation Fund is self-funding and does not require funds from the Exchequer.
Removing the levy for old age pensioners would undermine the principle of community rating and could result in higher premiums for other policyholders. Premium setting is a matter for insurers, who consider multiple factors including claims experience, benefit changes, and operating costs. While stamp duty may influence premium costs, it is a ring-fenced contribution to the Risk Equalisation Fund and supports the credits needed to enable fairness and sustainability in the voluntary private health insurance market. Stamp duty is not automatically applied to each health insurance premium. Insurers decide how to build it into their pricing structures across their portfolio of policy types.
