Madam, - A letter in your edition of November 5th from the Health Services Action Group in Co Galway requires comment by us, not least because it refers directly to us by name in a disparaging manner. We would respond as follows:
1. A&E departments are free to all residents in the State who have paid for them through their taxes. People who purchase insurance do not forgo their rights to these services.
2. The regulatory regime dictates that insurers operate a fee for service reimbursement mechanism. While as insurers we may agree that it is not necessarily the most efficient method of controlling costs, we must operate within the law.
3. The Competition Authority is not "currently investigating" the health insurance market but rather the payment arrangements between doctors and insurers.
4. We do not accept that the health insurance system is "heavily subsidised by the taxpayer". Those who buy health insurance are themselves taxpayers whose taxes fund the health system and as they constitute 50 per cent of the population they can hardly be categorised as a minority.
5. It is true that we do not enjoy a truly competitive health insurance market in this country. This is caused by the regulatory regime within which insurers must operate.
We do not engage in "conning" consumers, as the letter claimed. We present our policies for sale in an open and transparent manner. People make considered choices about purchasing health insurance and about the products they purchase.
Finally, we note the assertion in the letter that our customers and those of our competitors are "deluded". I am reminded of the saying: "Methinks the whole world is mad but me and thee and sometimes I'm not sure about thee. . ." - Yours, etc.,
SEAN MURRAY,
Director of Marketing,
BUPA Ireland,
Fitzwilliam Square,
Dublin 2.