HEALTH’S high-handed approach forced the WPA to go public with its concerns about pricing, says one of the insurer’s directors.

Corporate communications director Charlie MacEwan flew into the island yesterday to defend WPA’s position after attacks by Health minister Hunter Adam.

Deputy Adam said the 23% hospital price rise to which the insurer objects had been wrongly calculated.

But Mr MacEwan (pictured) was heavily critical of Deputy Adam’s approach and Health’s sums, saying they were intended to mislead the public.

‘I have no idea where he got those figures from but his own financial director and deputy financial director agreed with our figures, that prices were going up 23%,’ he said.

He said what needed to happen was a proper discussion about the £300,000 outstanding. He said WPA had been open with Health throughout and had offered fair payment more than once.

‘Health’s finance directors even accepted, but this was never ratified,’ he said.

Health Minister Hunter Adam said WPA’s data was seriously flawed.

‘The figures provided by WPA have now been examined and the data extraction is seriously flawed in that it implies that more procedures would have been charged than actually occurred, while the spreadsheet contains a number of duplications,’ he said.  ‘Eliminating these anomalies reduces the increase to around 15%.’

Health said it had found in October 2007 that it was significantly undercharging when compared to UK practice.