COMMUNITY rating in health insurance is not just an issue in Ireland, but something at the heart of discussions of health insurance throughout Europe.
The term relates to a health insurance regime where all subscribers who opt for the same level of cover pay the same premium, whether they are 20 years old and facing decades of healthy life, or 60 and likely to be expensive for the insurer.
It is based on the assumption that people will join an insurance scheme when they are young in order to benefit when they are older.
The VHI was set up on the basis of community rating, and the legislation was designed to protect it. This makes health insurance in Ireland an unattractive proposition for commercial health insurance companies, as they are prohibited by law from "cherry-picking" younger, healthier subscribers by offering them better rates.
The cash plans offered by BUPA vary according to age, and this is seen by the VHI, and apparently by the Attorney General, as contrary to the spirit of the legislation. BUPA denies this, stating that the cash plans are not health insurance as such, but enable people to supplement existing, community-rated health insurance.