The VHI's pricing system has been criticised by the Irish Patients' Association. In a statement it said the principle of community rating was the cornerstone of Irish private health insurance and meant all members paid the same price for their plan.
"It is our understanding that the current pricing formula is against the spirit of this right of members, insofar as a member who paid the contribution prior to February did not incur the 6.25 per cent increase, while a member who paid the annual renewal before September 2001 will not incur the 9 per cent increase until the next renewal in, say, August 2002," the statement added.