“Dear Editor, – The phrase “Medical inflation” is frequently used by health insurance firms to account for and rationalise the recent sharp hikes in the price of insurance policies. The insurers owe it to the customers to give a more comprehensive insight into the factors causing these regular price escalations. They should perhaps commence by examining the role that medical consultant fees play in this.
Over the past year and a half, my personal family experience has revealed that the standard charge of €200 for an initial medical consultation has risen to €300. Additionally, a short follow-up appointment costing just over €400, the purpose of which was to analyse scan results, lasted no more than 15 minutes.
While both these appointments provided me a sense of relief about my health status, I found it hard to rationalise the hefty consultation fees being charged. These charges require investigation and possibly regulation. It is also essential that the views of the customers are represented in dialogues about fee structures between medical consultants and the insurance industry.
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Yours sincerely,
EDDIE MOLLOY,
Rathgar,
Dublin.”