OECD Health Working Papers

ISSN :
1815-2015 (online)
DOI :
10.1787/18152015
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This series is designed to make available to a wider readership health studies prepared for use within the OECD. Authorship is usually collective, but principal writers are named. The papers are generally available only in their original language - English or French - with a summary in the other.
 

Private Health Insurance in Ireland

A Case Study You or your institution have access to this content

Authors:
Francesca Colombo, Nicole Tapay
Publication Date
12 Feb 2004
Bibliographic information
No.:
10
Pages
56
DOI
10.1787/226617182041

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  1. This paper analyses the Irish private health insurance (PHI) market. It describes how PHI interacts with the public system, and assesses its contribution to equity, efficiency and responsiveness of the health system. The analysis identifies some of the factors affecting insurance market performance and its impact on the health system, including market characteristics, the regulatory and fiscal environment, health system organisation, and any actors’ incentives and behaviours.
  2. PHI plays a prominent role in Ireland. The health system is designed to offer comprehensive publicly funded health services to low-income groups, and universal public hospital coverage. Policies have encouraged the development of PHI to provide all individuals with a private alternative to the public system, as well as a means of funding cost-sharing and services not covered by the public system. With the implementation of the requirements of the Third EU Non-Life Directive, the PHI market, historically ...

JEL Classification:
  • I11: Health, Education, and Welfare / Health / Analysis of Health Care Markets
  • I18: Health, Education, and Welfare / Health / Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
  • I19: Health, Education, and Welfare / Health / Other