Ireland has a system of private health insurance (PHI) which acts as a voluntary alternative to the benefits provided under the Irish public health system. As part of this, community rating has long been a cornerstone of the Irish private health insurance market with the objective to make PHI...

The paper summarises the conclusions for health policy from the experience of three countries who have introduced risk equalisation subsidies, in their voluntary health insurance (VHI) markets. The countries chosen are Australia, Ireland and South Africa. All of these countries have developed...