Health Minister Micheál Martin has indicated he will back the VHI's request for an 8.5% premium increase.
Speaking in Galway this afternoon, Martin said that last year the Board indicated it would be looking for an increase of up to 18% this year, but had managed to hold it at just 8.5%.
He said the VHI compared very well with international competitors in terms of value for money, and added that he would be bringing a recomendation to Government along the lines of the recomendation from the Board.
The VHI has defended the proposed 8.5% increase in premiums, saying the rise comes from a very low base, and that health insurance in Ireland is still among the lowest in the world.
Earlier Opposition parties criticised the proposal.
Fine Gael's Olivia Mitchell has described the proposed increase in the cost of health as frightening and has called for some mechanism for controlling costs and increasing competition in health insurance.
The Consumer's Association says that if granted, the application would be an increasingly difficult burden for the VHI's 1.5m subscribers.
The increase being sought is 8% for subscribers on the company's standard plans and 7% for the higher cost options plan.
Last year subscriptions rose by 18%, the highest for over 20 years.
