The introduction of an own risk element into healthcare insurance has not impacted on demand, research group Nivel said on Wednesday.

The own risk – meaning patients pay the first €165 euros of their healthcare costs each year – has only led to 5% of patients considering whether treatment is necessary, Nivel says.
Nevertheless, a high own-risk charge does make people more aware of the cost of healthcare, the organisation said.
The next government is expected to put up the level of the own risk element still further and introduce charges for a number of treatments because healthcare spending is some €1.4bn over budget each year.