The Department of Health has said the Government intends to publish a bill addressing VHI's corporate status later this year.
The statement follows news that the most recent entrant to the Irish health insurance marker, Vivas, has lodged an official complaint with the European Commission against the VHI. Vivas claims the State-owned health insurers have an unfair advantage over their competitors.
Last October Vivas - whose principle shareholders include financier Dermot Desmond and AIB - entered the Irish health insurance market. It is the only commercially driven company in the sector as the other two players VHI and BUPA Ireland operate on 'a not for profit' basis.
However, Vivas has since lodged an official complaint with the European Commission. It claims that the state-owned VHI, which controls 80% of the market, has an unfair advantage over it, as it for example, it is not required to carry solvency reserves.
This comes at a time when BUPA Ireland is bringing a separate complaint to European Court of Justice regarding risk equalisation.
Under the system, BUPA could be forced to pay €34m a year to VHI to compensate it for its older customer base.
In a statement this evening, VHI said that the issue of regulation can only be addressed following the introduction of risk equalisation.
A spokesman for the Department of Health said that the Government intends publishing a bill later this year which will address the VHI's corporate status.
