Health Insurance (Amendment) Act 2017
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Amendment of section 7A of Principal Act | ||
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2. Section 7A of the Principal Act is amended— | ||
(a) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (2A): | ||
“(2A) (a) Subject to paragraph (b), a registered undertaking shall ensure that any requirement it has made under subsection (2) is not withdrawn and otherwise continues to have effect. | ||
(b) A registered undertaking shall ensure that any requirement it has made under subsection (2) is withdrawn and otherwise does not continue to have effect in relation to an insured person who has, since 1 May 2015— | ||
(i) a continuous period of cover of not less than 10 years, or | ||
(ii) 2 or more continuous periods of cover totalling not less than 10 years. | ||
(c) In this subsection, ‘continuous period of cover’ shall be construed in accordance with the Health Insurance Act 1994 (Determination of Relevant Increase under section 7A and Provision of Information under section 7B) Regulations 2014 ( S.I. No. 312 of 2014 ).”, | ||
and | ||
(b) in subsection (7)— | ||
(i) in paragraph (b), by the substitution of “other registered undertaking,” for “other registered undertaking.”, and | ||
(ii) by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (b): | ||
“(c) require that the registered undertaking concerned, in determining the amount of any relevant increase, take into account, to the extent and subject to any conditions specified in the regulations— | ||
(i) in respect of a person who has been an insured person for a period of not less than 3 years, any period or periods (each of which period is not less than 6 months) totalling not more than 3 years where, during that period or periods, the insured person concerned ceased to be an insured person for the purposes of this section, | ||
(ii) in respect of a person who has resided outside the State for a period of not less than 6 months, the period during which that person so resided, provided he or she becomes an insured person within a prescribed period of ceasing to reside outside the State, | ||
(iii) in respect of a person who was formerly a member of the Permanent Defence Force, the period during which he or she was such member, provided he or she becomes an insured person within the prescribed period of ceasing to be such member, | ||
(iv) in respect of a person who resides in the State and is insured under the Joint Sickness Insurance Scheme of the European Institutions, the period during which he or she has been a member of that scheme.”. |