Negotiations between the Voluntary Health Insurance board (VHI) and many private hospitals around the State have run into difficulties, with 11 of the hospitals announcing they will soon directly bill VHI patients on their hospital discharge.
A statement from the private hospitals said last night that direct billing would be introduced for VHI subscribers from March 1st. The patients would have to recover their hospital charges from the VHI.
The hospitals say they have been forced to act because of "the refusal of the VHI to adequately compensate private hospitals for the increase in their costs due to the nurses' pay award and other cost increases".
BUPA customers and subscribers to health insurance schemes operated for members of the Army, the Garda and employees of ESB will not be affected.
The VHI said it was disappointed that some of the hospitals with which it had not yet reached agreement had decided on such a move. A spokeswoman described the private hospitals' decision as "wrong and premature". Earlier this week, the board had rejected a Sunday newspaper report that some of the State's leading private hospitals were going to pull out of its full cover scheme.
The board said it had come to an agreement with 10 of the 23 private hospitals and treatment centres in the State for this year. It remained convinced that it could still reach agreement with the other hospitals and had told their managements to expect revised terms for discussion "in the coming days".
The chief executive of the Independent Hospital Association of Ireland, Mr Michael Heavey, said the nurses' pay award meant independent hospitals would incur a cost increase of £7 million this year. An increase sought from the VHI to recover the extra money had been refused.
The hospitals involved are: the Bon Secours hospitals in Glasnevin, Tralee, Tuam, Cork and Galway; St Vincent's Private Hospital, Dublin; Blackrock Clinic, Dublin; Clane General Hospital, Co Kildare; Mount Carmel Hospital, Dublin; St Joseph's Hospital, Raheny; and St Francis Private Hospital, Mullingar.
