Madam, – A 45 per cent rise in VHI plan B? I had to check to make sure it wasn’t living in Zimbabwe. Maybe Mary Harney’s famous quote should now be rewritten, “Closer to Botswana than Berlin”. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – A Government-owned and more astonishingly still unregulated health insurance company increases its prices by up to 45 per cent at a time when incomes are declining and unemployment is at a historic high. The most recently published Central Statistics Office figures show the annualised rate of inflation for services to November 2010 was 2 per cent. This puts the maximum proposed VHI increases at 22.5 times the rate of inflation. I think it might be time to shop around! – Yours, etc,