Privatisation
The Irish Government announced on 27 May 2010 that the company is to be privatised within the next three years. Spokespeople from the Department of Health stated that they did not expect premiums to increase or the loss of any jobs at the 800 strong company. The state expects to invest large sums of money to allow the company gain a solvency ratio in line with regulations and other insurance companies. This coincides with new health risk equalisation measures which are to be rolled out from 2012. The Irish government are looking toward retaining Ireland's history of community rating in health insurance.
This decision has, ostensibly, been overturned by the formation of a new coalition government after the Irish General Election 2011. In the coalition's Programme for Government, the Coalition commits itself to retaining VHI Healthcare as a state-owned corporation, serving as a public option within a Universal Health insurance system, modeled on the Dutch healthcare system.
Read more about this topic: Vhi Healthcare