Only one in five Irish people aged over 30 is aware of Lifetime Community Rating
ONLY ONE IN FIVE IRISH PEOPLE AGED OVER 30 IS AWARE OF LIFETIME COMMUNITY RATING
Only 4 per cent of people claim to understand it
Just months from deadline, only 5 per cent of over 30s plan to sign up for private health cover
82% find Lifetime Community Rating too complex and confusing
Health Economist warns that attracting younger people is key to stabilising costs and ‘rebooting’ Ireland’s health insurance market
Thursday, 26th February 2015: New research commissioned by laya healthcare, Ireland’s second largest health insurance provider, reveals that only one in five (21 per cent) Irish people aged over 30 years has heard of Lifetime Community Rating and worryingly, just 4 per cent claim to understand it. Almost two in three (62 per cent) currently without health insurance do not plan to take out health insurance before the April 30th deadline for sign-up to Lifetime Community Rating, with 60 per cent of those saying they simply cannot afford it.
Lifetime Community Rating is the Government’s initiative to encourage more young and healthy people into the private health insurance market, in an effort to control the cost of health insurance in Ireland as well as alleviating the pressures of an over-stretched public health system. Laya healthcare’s research conducted this month also found that only 2 per cent of those over 30 years are aware of the April 30th deadline date.
Information Critical
The low levels of awareness around Lifetime Community Rating are reflected in the fact that a staggering 92 per cent claim there hasn’t been enough information around Lifetime Community Rating to help them make an informed decision, with 82 per cent admitting they find the details around it complex and confusing. Some 93 per cent of those without health cover stated they would welcome an information website that helps explain Lifetime Community Rating.
In an effort to demystify Lifetime Community Rating, laya healthcare has launched a ‘go-to’ website where people can get information in a simple and easy-to-understand way. The website features practical advice, informative videos and step-by-step instructions on how to assess the potential impact of Lifetime Community Rating.
Dónal Clancy, Managing Director at laya healthcare says that levels of awareness around Lifetime Community Rating must be significantly increased over the coming weeks, and that the overarching message needs to be one of affordability and value. “According to our research, affordability is the number one barrier to the take up of private health cover among younger people,” he said, “we recently launched Assure Vitality, which costs just under €9 a week, and is aimed primarily at attracting younger first-time buyers of health insurance by providing the best value cover on the market.
“Unlike other providers, our Assure schemes offer full cover for all public hospitals. We also provide excellent additional benefits including the innovative ‘CareOnCall’, which allows members access to a registered GP, Nurse and Physio to get expert diagnostic and treatment advice. This will be a particularly attractive benefit for our members as we know from our research that two thirds of people over 30 without health cover delay going to see their GP to keep costs down. Members can also avail of HeartBeat, our cardiac screening service.”
He added, “Anyone taking out an Assure hospital scheme also has the reassurance that they are covered for treatment overseas of up to €100,000. No other provider is offering this coverage for similar priced schemes.”
Lifetime Community Rating critical for market stability
Brian Turner, Health Economist with UCC, warned that the successful take-up of Lifetime Community Rating is critical in order to restore stability to Ireland’s private health insurance market and curb the price spiral that has made health cover unaffordable for many.
He said, “While there’s been some modest growth in the numbers of people signing up to private health cover over the last six months, it would be very premature to say we’ve reached the bottom of the market. The introduction of Lifetime Community Rating should help ‘reboot’ the Irish health insurance market, stimulating much-needed growth and interest among younger people, which is absolutely critical if the principle of community rating is to succeed, and costs are to come down. We have evidence from other countries, such as Australia, which shows that when a reforming initiative such as Lifetime Community Rating is introduced, it can have a demonstrable and positive impact on the market. Key to achieving this is the roll out of a high profile, hard-hitting information campaign that engages young people and incentivises them to take action.”
OTHER RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS:
UNDERSTANDING THE IMPACT
When asked, “Do you understand how Lifetime Community Rating will affect you personally”, two in three (66 per cent) of those aged 35-39 years said they had no idea
More than half (56 per cent) of those without health insurance aged 35-39 have already decided not to take out private health insurance before the deadline, with 37 per cent still undecided
AFFORDABILITY
Six in 10 of those aged over 30 currently without health insurance say they would like to take up health cover, but simply cannot afford it
Three in four believe the Government should subsidise health insurance for younger people to encourage them to take up health insurance at an earlier age
15 per cent of those who do not plan to sign up before 30th April say that private health insurance is not good value for money
Almost one in five (18 per cent) won’t sign up for health insurance because they don’t agree with paying any additional Government-imposed levies on health insurance
IS LIFETIME COMMUNITY RATING FAIR?
Opinion is divided when it comes to deciding whether Lifetime Community Rating is fair or not, with 44 per cent of those aged 35-49 years saying they think it’s a fair initiative, compared to 56 per cent who think it’s unfair that younger people should help subsidise the cost of older and less healthy people across the market, thereby making health care affordable to all. Unsurprisingly, a larger percentage, 65 per cent, of the older cohort aged over 60+ years think it’s fair
PERCEPTIONS AROUND IRELAND’S PUBLIC HEALTH CARE SYSTEM
Of the two in three (62 per cent) aged over 30 years who are not planning on taking out health insurance, a staggering 71 per cent are worried about falling ill and having to rely on the public healthcare system, with two in three (66 per cent) rating the quality of care in the public system as poor
Cost of GP: The average annual spend on GP visits by the over 30s is €195. Of those without health insurance, one in three (32 per cent) spend between €100 - €500 on visiting their GP every year. Worryingly, two in three people aged 30+ without health insurance will delay going to see their GP in order to keep these costs down with 69 per cent delaying any non-emergency medical procedures if they need them.
A higher number than expected (9 per cent) of people aged 30+ say they have been forced to go abroad for medical treatment in the last 12 months. Of these people one in five (22 per cent) are aged between 30-34 years
//ENDS.
Research was carried out among 1,000 people across Ireland aged between 30 - 60+ years by Ignite Research on behalf of laya healthcare. The research was carried out in February 2015 and is a national representative survey of 1,000 adults 30 years and over.