Further details of Health Minister James Reilly's plan for Universal Health Insurance (UHI) are to be provided today with the publication of a Government White Paper.

Under UHI, planned for introduction around 2019, the entire population will have health insurance and will be given a guarantee of equal access, free at the point of delivery, to a yet-to-be determined basic package of hospital, GP, community and mental health services.

Everyone in the country will purchase a universal health insurance policy from one of a series of designated health insurers appointed under the scheme. The insurers will purchase services on behalf of subscribers from hospitals and other health providers.

Those on lower incomes will have their insurance premia covered by the State, while those on higher incomes will buy insurance policies, but the the full cost of this will be subsidised by the State.

The White Paper, many details of which have already been widely leaked, will not provide much information at this stage of exactly what level of insurance premia people will be paying under UHI, or exactly what will be the range of services to be included in or excluded from in the basic package of care.

People who require additional services not in the basket of basic care products will have to pay extra insurance.

Emergency care will not be included under the insurance scheme, but will continue to be separately State-funded.

The Government has inssited that costs would be controlled under UHI and that the scheme would be strictly regulated.

There have been concerns that under a 'money follows the patient' system that will accompany UHI, hospitals may be encouraged to carry out unnecessary treatments and tests to boost their income.

UHI- what is it and will it work?