asked the Minister for Health if he is aware of the hardship suffered by asthmatics; if he is aware of the great expense that asthmatic sufferers are under; if he will provide them with medical cards; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - Medical Cards for Asthmatics.
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Some 40 per cent of asthma patients are covered by medical cards and, therefore, receive all of their prescribed drugs, as well as general practitioner services, entirely free of charge. Where an individual or a family is subjected to a significant level of ongoing expenditure on medical expenses due to a long term medical condition, these expenses are reckoned in determining eligibility for medical card cover. In the case of a family, a medical card can be issued to one member of the family only, where appropriate.
Persons who could not be regarded as eligible for a medical card can avail themselves of the refund of cost of drugs scheme, which ensures that their net unrefunded exenditure on prescribed drugs and medicines does not exceed £28 per month. This assumes that they have no VHI cover. Substantial income tax relief on net unrefunded medical expenses is available under the income tax code.
Medical cards can only be issued to persons who satisfy the criterion of hardship, in that they cannot provide general practitioner medical services for themselves and their dependants, from their own resources, without incurring an undue degree of hardship. The issue of medical cards is a statutory responsibility of the chief executive officer of the relevant health board.
The universal provision of medical cards to a particular group of persons, solely on the grounds of a diagnosed medical condition and without any reference to the financial means of such persons, would be ultra vires the Health Act, 1970. Such a departure from long established policy would also be socially inequitable and indefensible and would give rise to demands that medical cards be made available, en masse, to sufferers of numerous other conditions.