Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 16 February 2023
140. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Health if he will ensure that there is equal treatment of private nursing homes in relation to subvention payments regardless of their location; if the sizeable divergence in payments at present will be removed without delay; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7648/23]
View answerI am acutely aware of the specific challenges faced by the nursing homes sector related to price inflation and increased energy costs.The Government has provided substantial supports to the nursing home sector over the course of the pandemic. Over €147 million has been claimed by nursing homes under the Temporary Assistance Payment Scheme (TAPS) since its introduction in 2020. Substantial additional supports have also been provided by the HSE in terms of serial testing, PPE, the deployment of specialist teams and other services. A €10 million Temporary Inflation Payments Scheme (TIPS) was established to support private and voluntary nursing homes with increases in energy costs, covering 75% of year-on-year cost increases up to a monthly cap of €5,250 per nursing home, over the period of July-December 2022 (€31,500 per nursing home). The Department of Health intends to extend the Temporary Assistance Payment Scheme (TAPS) COVID-19 Outbreak Assistance to the end of March 2023 and to expand the scope of the Temporary Inflation Payment Scheme (TIPS). Any further extension or expansion of either scheme will be kept under review.Funding to support people to access services in the sector continues to be provided in line with the long-established statutory mechanisms under the Nursing Homes Support Scheme Act 2009. This is the mechanism established by the Oireachtas to provide for the processes relating to funding under the NHSS and the negotiation of prices for services for private and voluntary providers with the designated State agency, the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF). Maximum prices for individual nursing homes are agreed with the NTPF following negotiations and based on the NTPF’s cost criteria. These criteria include costs reasonably incurred by the nursing home, local market prices, historic prices and overall budgetary capacity. The NTPF carry out this role independently under the NHSS Act 2009. The NTPF has statutory independence, and there is no role for Ministers or the Department of Health in these negotiations. The Department of Health published a review of the NTPF pricing system in June 2021. It recommended several actions to improve the pricing system which are now being taken forward by the Department of Health and the NTPF. One of these actions relates to exploring a new geographical pricing model for the sector.
Budget 2023 saw over €40 million in additional funding for the NHSS which will provide for an uplift in the maximum prices chargeable by private and voluntary nursing homes, as negotiated. I am currently in discussions with Departmental officials to examine ways in which funding can also continue to be used to provide support, where necessary and appropriate, to those nursing homes who are not scheduled to renegotiate their Deeds of Agreement this year. Other options to support nursing homes are also being explored.
