Opposition health proposals would mean an end to local hospital services - Connick

Fianna Fáil TD for Wexford and Minister for Fisheries Sean Connick has said that Fine Gael and Labour plans to introduce compulsory private health insurance would signal the end of local hospital services.

Minister Connick continued, “Under the opposition plans private health insurance companies would decide on all hospital and GP services. This means the VHI or one of the other private health insurance providers would decide which hospitals will carry out which services. This would effectively mean that Wexford General would be competing with bigger hospitals which could potentially carry out procedures cheaper because they are they dealing with greater numbers of patients. Furthermore, under the Opposition proposals private health companies and not doctors would decide what treatments patient could avail of. The opposition are intent on handing over our health services to three private insurance companies. In fact if Fine Gael had their way they would abolish the HSE entirely and leave it up to insurance companies to employ HSE staff.”

“Under Labour and Fine Gael health insurance would be compulsory for everyone but we have not been told at what cost. We have all been shocked by the dramatic increases in private health insurance premiums in recent weeks so for the opposition to claim they can subsidise the entire cost of new private health insurance policies for about 1.3 million people with medical cards, and heavily subsidise the cost for 660,000 more people – all at no cost to the Exchequer is simply not credible.”

“The truth is we already have universal health services here in Ireland. Everyone is entitled to a full range of acute hospital services, including the most complex surgery, in public hospitals. No one is forced to take out health insurance unless they want to do so. In addition one third of the population has a medical card. I shall vigorously oppose plans by Labour and Fine Gael to allow private health companies make health policy decisions at the expense of Wexford Hospital.”