Mater Private group warns insurers must stump up for rising cost of patient care

Mater Private Network, the private hospitals group that owns its eponymous Dublin flagship facility, recorded a surge in operating profits last year while also boosting sales by 18 per cent to €291.6 million. It warned, however, that it remains a “challenge” to convince private health insurers to “reimburse at a level that recognises the significant cost pressures in the sector”.

The group made an operating profit last year of €13.3 million, up by 77 per cent, according to accounts viewed by The Irish Times. However, it made a net loss of €44.1 million after paying an interest bill of €35.6 million on its borrowings and swallowing a near €20 million accounting charge on the value of its assets.

The group also paid out €14.2 million for infrastructural investment over the year. The directors of the business said they are “satisfied” with its operational performance.

Mater Private network includes the hospitals in Dublin and Cork as well as radiotherapy centres in Limerick and, via joint venture, in Liverpool. It also runs outpatient clinics in Drogheda, Mullingar and Navan, as well as two-day hospitals in the suburbs of Dublin.

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The group, which employs close to 1,600 staff including 300 consultants, was bought for about €495 million in 2018 by a fund run by French investment firm Infravia Capital. Mater Private Network has total accumulated losses on its balance sheet of about €432 million, but the audited accounts say it has plenty of funding.

The group’s investments last year included a new laboratory that can give results for Covid-19 tests in less than four hours. It also invested in further women’s healthcare services in Cork. This year, the group committed to spending a further €26 million on a new digital health records platform.

Group chief executive John Hurley said he was “delighted” with its progress in patient services, but he reiterated the warning about health insurers.

“The challenge of healthcare inflation is real and will require insurer reimbursement at a level that allows Mater Private Network and the wider sector to invest in people, quality, and infrastructure,” he said.