A report carried out by the health insurance regulator has recommended that the Health Minister should not enforce payments under the risk equalisation scheme.
The scheme is aimed at balancing the risks taken on by insurers and compensating those with older members. There was speculation that it could have led to BUPA Ireland's being forced to make payments to VHI.
The Health Insurance Authority (HIA) this week submitted a report which analysed returns made by health insurers VHI, BUPA Ireland and ESB Staff Medical Provident Fund in the period from July to the end of 2003.
The HIA's report found that the current risk difference between companies was 2% to 10%. The authority will be reviewing returns made by health insurers for the first six months of this year.
