Press Statement
02/05/2015
In a statement, People Before Profit candidate in the upcoming Carlow-Kilkenny by-election, Adrienne Wallace has condemned the entrenchment of the two-tier health system. On the 30th April the deadline for people to sign up for private health insurance and avoid a “late signup fee” passed. The Lifetime Community Rating will penalise people over 34 years of age who have miss the deadline.
Adrienne Wallace said: “The actions by government and Minister Varadkar are completely counter to where we as a society should be going. Only this time last year there was talk of the government being ‘the first in the history of the State that is committed to developing a universal single-tiered health service which guarantees access to medical care on need not income.’ Now the Minister for Health is acting like a henchman of the private health insurance market. As Richard Boyd Barrett said last week, the Minister for Health who is responsible for the public health system in this country is acting as a tout for private health insurers. They are copper fastening the two tier health system that has emerged in this country.”
“The Lifetime Community Rating scheme discriminates against older people. People who are over the age of 34 will pay a 2% penalty if they sign up late, a 50 year old will pay 32% and people over 69 will pay 70%. This set-up by the Minister for Health only favours the profit margins of private health insurers and is not in the public interest.”
“Private health insurance is expensive as it is in this country. Some of the most basic plans range from €394 to just under €1,500 per year how are people on low incomes or struggling with mortgage arrears and property taxes supposed to pay these fees? Instead of trying to promote private health insurers the Minister should concentrate on improving the public health system.”
“As with a lot of things this Fine Gael-Labour government are doing this also highlights the class interests in politics in this country. Those who are running things are running them to suit themselves; they have no idea what it is to live like the majority of people in this country. This is why we need to put in people who will look after the interests of all of society. We should have a government who will look to develop our society rather than try to tear it up to leave only a marketplace.”
People Before Profit
