1A. — F3[(1) The principal objective of this Act is to ensure that, in the interests of the common good and across the health insurance market, access to health insurance cover is available to consumers of health services with no differentiation made between them (whether effected by risk equalisation credits or stamp duty measures or other measures, or any combination thereof), in particular as regards the costs of health services, based in whole or in part on the health risk status, age or sex of, or frequency of provision of health services to, any such consumers or any class of such consumers, and taking into particular account for the purposes of that objective—

(a) the fact that the health needs of consumers of health services increase as they become less healthy, including as they approach and enter old age,

(b) the desirability of ensuring, in the interests of societal and intergenerational solidarity, and regardless of the health risk status or age of, or frequency of provision of health services to, any particular generation (or part thereof), that the burden of the costs of health services be shared by insured persons by providing for a cost subsidy between the more healthy and the less healthy, including between the young and the old, and, without prejudice to the generality of that objective, in particular that the less healthy, including the old, have access to health insurance cover by means of risk equalisation credits,

(c) the manner in which the health insurance market operates in respect of health insurance contracts, both in relation to individual registered undertakings and across the market, and

(d) the importance of discouraging registered undertakings from engaging in practices, or offering health insurance contracts, whether by segmentation of the health insurance market (by whatever means) or otherwise, which have as their object or effect the favouring of the coverage by the undertakings of the health insurance risk of the more healthy, including the young, over the coverage of the health insurance risk of the less healthy, including the old.]

(2) A registered undertaking shall not engage in a practice, or effect an agreement (including a health insurance contract), which has as its object or effect (whether in whole or in part) the avoidance of the achievement of the principal objective F4[…].

(3) Nothing in this section shall affect the operation of section 7(5) or 7A.]