Vhi Healthcare

The Voluntary Health Insurance Board (An Bord Árachais Sláinte Shaorálaigh in Irish language) - which trades under the brand name Vhi Healthcare, and is still commonly referred to in Ireland as "The VHI" - is the largest health insurance company in the Republic of Ireland. It is a statutory corporation whose members are appointed by the Minister for Health and Children. It is regulated by the Health Insurance Authority.

Products
Vhi Healthcare offers a number of health insurance products, including its five hospital plans (Plans A to E). It has also recently expanded into dental and travel insurance. Vhi Healthcare claims to have 1.55 million members which represents 40% of the population or 80% of the private health insurance market. Until 14th December 2006, its main rival in the market was BUPA Ireland. The current Vhi Healthcare business model is based on directly paying the consultant and hospital bills of its members and does not provide medical services directly.

History
The Voluntary Health Insurance Board was created in 1957 under the Voluntary Health Insurance Act, 1957 by the Minister for Health Tom O'Higgins. This law has been amended but remains the primary legislation under which Vhi Healthcare operates.

The company held a monopoly in the health insurance market in Ireland until 1996, when BUPA entered the market. The company rebranded from "VHI - Voluntary Health Insurance" to "Vhi Healthcare" in the early 2000s, although the Board's legal name has never been altered.

The company has caused controversy recently by its demand that "risk equalisation" be introduced in the health insurance market in Ireland. This would mean that Quinn-healthcare (formerly the business of BUPA Ireland) and eventually Vivas Health would be forced to subsidise Vhi Healthcare in its activities, as Vhi's customer base is older that that of its competitors. On 13th December 2006, BUPA announced it is to leave the Irish market, due to risk equalisation being introduced.

It is expected that the "statutory corporation" status of Vhi Healthcare will soon be changed in order to prepare it for more vigorous competition as it is often accused of being a virtual monopoly on private healthcare. While the privatisation of the company is not believed to be imminent, it was reported in the company's 2004 Annual Report that the Minister for Health would change the status of the board into a limited company owned by the state. Legislation to implement this change has yet to be published however.