VHI HAS ANNOUNCED that it is to increase health insurance prices by 7% from the start of October, due to a significant increase in “demand for healthcare” following the pandemic, and high levels of “healthcare inflation”. 

The increase means that one of VHI’s most popular insurance plans – its One + Plan – will now cost €1367.57 annually instead of €1278.11. 

This price hike follows an increase in March of this year, which was the first price increase from the health insurance provider in two years. 

The company today stated that it has seen an continuous increase in the numbers of customers accessing healthcare, as well an increase in the cost of delivering medical treatment. 

VHI said that it has a responsibility to set premiums in a “prudent and sustainable manner” to ensure it can continue to meet the needs of its members. 

The managing director of the company Aaron Keogh said that VHI is conscious of the “financial pressures” that many of its members are facing, but added that this price increase is necessary. 

“The pandemic brought significant impacts on healthcare delivery in Ireland but we have seen a strong recovery in the number of members accessing necessary healthcare treatments in all parts of the healthcare system through 2023,” he said. 

Keogh added that there has been a rise in the costs associated with the delivery of healthcare, including upward pressure on “wages, energy and other costs”. 

He added that this price hike is “necessary” so VHI can continue to give customers access to “new and innovative drugs, procedures, technologies and services”. 

Keogh said that any surplus generated from this increase in rates will be invested in improving the “service experience” of VHI’s members. 

He said that Ireland faces significant healthcare challenges in the years ahead. 

“Demographic challenges resulting from a growing and ageing population indicate a significant increase in chronic disease and mental health risk,” Keogh said. 

He added that in 2022 VHI delivered over 523,000 “healthcare interactions” for its members.