BUPA Ireland has called for the abandonment of the risk equalisation system in health insurance that, it claims, makes competition impossible.

BUPA managing director, Mr Martin O'Rourke, says reintroduction of the system as proposed in the White Paper, requires a transfer of £20 million over three years from BUPA to VHI.

In addition to penalising cost containment, it also breaches EU law as the Third Non-Life Directive requires the introduction of an open market, he said. "The protection of community rating should not mean the protection of any market player."

Mr O'Rourke also proposed a benchmark health insurance product to protect consumers, the implementation of a structure to allow innovation and make it possible to compete in the private medical insurance market and the abolition of the proposed State aid to the VHI.