asked the Minister for Health the estimated number of people who will be excluded from benefit under the drugs refund scheme, when the base figure is increased above £16.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Drugs Refund Scheme.
5.
There will be no change in regard to eligibility following the recent changes. The number of claims received this year will depend on the number of persons whose expenditure, including that of dependants, on prescribed medicines exceeds £23 for a month's supply. In 1982 there were about 6,000 claims per month from persons with expenditure between £16 and £23.
Is the Minister aware of the hardship caused to a number of people as a result of his decision to increase the amount the patient has to pay? Is he aware that this is not taken into account when a claim is being processed for a medical card under the GMS scheme?
Last year 430,000 claims were received under the drugs refund scheme. My view and the view of the health boards is that if there is any particular degree of hardship being created for any person or that person's family the health boards are prepared to review the requirements of such people so that any serious hardship does not accrue to the families concerned.
Since this time last year the figure has gone up almost 100 per cent. I am sure the Minister accepts that it is creating hardship. Would he ensure that any person who has a long-term illness or is on drugs for a long period would have the £23 a month allowed in an application for a medical card the same as rent paid for housing is allowed? Will the Minister ensure that it is statutory on health boards to take into account what is paid in the drugs refund scheme?
It would be extremely difficult for the health boards because the claims vary. I assure the Deputy that if I receive any individual complaints about particular cases of hardship I will contact the health boards concerned and ask them to deal with the claims as expeditiously as possible.
Would the Minister not agree that this scheme should be index-linked in order to be fairer to the people concerned in view of the steep increases that have occured over the last two years? Would the Minister agree that an index-linked scheme would be a fairer system?
Currently, £8 million a year is being spent on it. For example, in the Deputy's constituency six out of every ten people have free drugs and 62 per cent of the population have medical cards. In relation to the other 38 per cent of the population in the Deputy's constituency this scheme applies. I have not had any detailed information about grave hardship being imposed on individual families. Very few cases have been brought to my attention but in those cases the health boards have bent over backwards to give assistance.
In view of the situation arising where people have to wait for the refund from the health boards would the Minister consider introducing a system whereby the chemist's customer could pay the amount less the refund and the chemist would then apply for the refund rather than the patient?
I am currently examining the claims by chemists to the health boards because very often those claims do not indicate on what drug the refund is being claimed. As the Deputy knows, these claims are refunded to the chemist on the basis of retail price and this is of some concern. I accept the Deputy's view that there is a delay of about five or six weeks in the case of some health boards in refunding. That delay is too long. It should not be more than three or four weeks.