HSF

HSF Health Plan acquires HSA business in Ireland

30th Apr 2008

Leading health cash plan provider, HSF Health Plan has acquired the Irish business of HSA Healthplan.

As Ireland’s leading health cash plan operator, HSF Health Plan currently provides over 100,000 Irish contributors, with cash towards everyday medical costs, including routine GP, dental and optical visits, hospital visits, complementary medicine and personal injury. Over 500 organisations in Ireland from the voluntary, public and private sectors, offer HSF Health Plan to their staff.

HSF Health Plan is the trading name of the Hospital Saturday Fund, a not-for-profit organisation established in 1873 and which opened an office in Ireland in 1949. HSA is part of the Simplyhealth Group and had operated a health plan business in Ireland since 1993.

The acquisition will bring HSF’s total number of contributors in Ireland to over 130,000.

According to HSF Health Plan’s CEO, Keith Bradley, the move strengthens the organisation’s not-for-profit ethos and with the larger customer base, ensures its ability to continue to offer its contributors low cost schemes.

“We will work closely with HSA over the coming months to ensure that all customers’ needs are serviced with the minimum disruption. All HSA customers will continue to be covered by their existing policy, which will be transferred over to HSF systems and customer services,” he added.

HSF Health Plan claims totalled €19.7m (£14,156,642) in Ireland and the UK during 2006/2007 and over 80% of the 170,000 claims were paid out for non-hospital medical costs. The most popular claim categories among contributors were optical and dental costs at 51.2% of the total.

As a not-for-profit organisation, any surplus funds from HSF Health Plan are returned to the community through the Charity. In 2008, over €535,000 will be paid out in donations and grants to medical charities for care and research, hospices and hospitals across Ireland and the UK. Assistance is also given to individuals whose illness or disability has caused financial difficulties.