VHI want to increase premium again
The VHI has written to Health Minister Micheál Martin requesting permission to increase their premiums by 8%.
The request comes just a year after the health insurance firm secured an 18% increase in premiums for its 1.5 million customers.
Last year's price hike, the most severe in two decades, followed a series of increases in the preceding years and if the latest VHI request is granted, the company's premiums will have risen by almost 50% since 2001.
The VHI's request comes as the Government is pushing for consultants to pay insurance bills for their private patients, a move that could also lead to an increase in insurance cover when patients are forced to pick up the tab.
