The newest health insurer in the market has become the latest to announce a price hike with Level Health confirming it is following the three other providers in the State in imposing an increase on its customers.
Level Health, which launched last November and promised simplified plans and lower prices, said it will increase the price of the four plans it offers by an average of 6 per cent starting on April 7th.
Three of its plans will increase in price from that date with the fourth going up later this month.
The price hikes should not impact any of its existing customers until November at the earliest but it will see those who join from next month paying more for their cover.
The company - backed by insurance giant Aviva - said the price increases reflected the increasing cost of providing healthcare, which, it suggested was driven by two key factors.
It pointed to the Government’s health insurance levy which is rising from the beginning of next month and said the second factor was an increase in the numbers accessing healthcare, leading to higher claims across hospitals, specialist care, and everyday medical expenses.
Level Health said that as demand for treatment continues to grow, so too does the cost of delivering high-quality care, which impacts the price of health insurance.
The company’s chief executive Jim Dowdall sad “external cost pressures make this price adjustment necessary” but he insisted that th company’s focus “remains on delivering strong value, innovative benefits, and sustainable cover for our members.”
From the beginning of next month, Laya Healthcare is increasing its prices by an average of 6.6 per cent while Irish Life Health increased their rates from 1st January by an average of 3.7 per cent and the VHI recently announced another increase averaging 3 per cent.
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The Health Insurance Authority has noted that across the sector, prices increased by 11 per cent on average in the first three quarters of 2024.
It has said that the ongoing price increases can be attributed to a continued rise in healthcare costs as well as a sharp increase in demand for healthcare.
