James Reilly universal health insurance plan ‘not’ affordable

Minister for Health Leo Varadkar has said the method of universal health insurance (UHI) proposed by his predecessor James Reilly is "not affordable, now or ever".

Mr Varadkar made his comments after the Cabinet considered a memo from him which said cost of the original UHI model would have increased the cost of running the health service by €650 million annually.

Dr Reilly’s model envisaged a system being put in place comprising a number of different companies – a multipayer model. Mr Varadkar said a new model, such as a single-payer system, would now be examined but would not be implemented until a third term of government.

Quality healthcare

“We remain committed to universal healthcare, that’s access to quality healthcare in a timely manner, in a way that is affordable to everyone and we remain committed to universal health insurance as a way to achieve that vision,” Mr Varadkar said.

“However, the research and the work done by the ESRI and others clearly indicates that the model that was studied is not affordable now or ever because of the very large premiums that would be imposed on families or the subsided that the exchequer would have to foot the bill for if we were to go down that route.”

Resigning matter

Fianna Fáil

attacked what it described as the abandonment of UHI and said it was a resigning matter for the Government. Party leader Micheál Martin said

Fine Gael

had been promising UHI for 14 years and only now the party realised it was not feasible.

“This is a resigning matter. We would like the electorate to take matters into their own hands,” said Mr Martin.

He said the blame could not lie solely with Dr Reilly as Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Mr Varadkar had fully endorsed the plans. “Leo Varadkar didn’t say a dickie bird about this until he came into office and I would say the civil servants are at the end of their tether in terms of this basic dishonest proposition.”

The party’s spokesman on health Billy Kelleher said Fianna Fáil would introduce a taxation-funded model committed to the public health service.

Sinn Féin health spokesman Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin said Mr Varadkar’s memo to Cabinet about the shortcomings of the UHI plan was a vindication of what his party said all along.