Health Insurance (Amendment) Act, 2001

Further amendment of section 2(1) of Principal Act.

3.—Section 2(1) of the Principal Act is further amended by—

(a) the deletion of the definition of “ancillary health services”,

(b) the insertion of the following definition after the definition of “the Council Directives”:

“‘day patient service’ means a health service provided in, or by persons attached to, a hospital in the following circumstances—

(a) the patient concerned is admitted on an elective basis for care or treatment or both,

(b) such care or treatment does not require the use of a bed overnight, and

(c) the patient is discharged as scheduled;”,

(c) the substitution of the following definition for the definition of “hospital in-patient services”:

“‘hospital in-patient services’ means in-patient services within the meaning of the Health Act, 1970 , and includes any day patient service;”,

(d) the substitution of the following definition for the definition of “premium”:

“‘premium’ has the meaning assigned to it by the Insurance Act, 1936 , and, in relation to a health insurance contract, includes any payment made to the undertaking concerned in respect of each person party to or named in the contract;”,

(e) the insertion of the following definition after the definition of “the Registrar”:

“‘relevant health services’ means out-patient services, general medical practitioner services and services consisting of the supply of drugs or medical preparations;”,

and

(f) the substitution of the following definition for the definition of “risk equalisation”:

“‘risk equalisation’ means the sharing of prescribed costs of registered undertakings between the undertakings (being costs incurred in respect of payments under health insurance contracts to or in relation to the persons party to or named in such contracts) by means of payments made by or to such undertakings in accordance with the terms and conditions of a scheme;”.