asked the Minister for Health if he will outline the medical card eligibility of persons whose circumstances are as follows:— (a) the sole income is that of the husband who is 66 years of age (b) the wife who never worked is 60 years of age, and whose total income is below the limit for a medical card for a couple from 66 years to 79 years; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - Medical Card Eligibility.
245.
Medical cards are issued to persons who in the opinion of the chief executive officer of the appropriate health board are unable without undue hardship to provide general practitioner service for themselves and their dependants.
Income guidelines are available to assist chief executive officers in reaching a decision about a person's entitlement and to ensure uniformity of decisions in the different health boards. The guidelines include an age allowance for persons aged 66 and over.
In a case such as that referred to by the Deputy the health board would regard the couple as being in the 66-79 age group.
The following are the current medical card guidelines:—
|
£ |
|
|
Single person living alone aged under 66 |
72.00 |
|
Single person living alone aged under 66-79 |
77.50 |
|
Single person living alone aged 80 and over |
81.00 |
|
Single person living with family aged under 66 |
62.00 |
|
Single person living with family aged 66-79 |
67.00 |
|
Single person living with family aged 80 and over |
70.00 |
|
Married couple aged under 66 |
103.50 |
|
Married couple aged 66-79 |
115.00 |
|
Married couple aged 80 and over |
121.00 |
|
Allowance per child under 16 |
12.00 |
|
Allowance for other dependants |
13.50 |
|
Allowance for outgoings on house excess over |
12.00 |
|
Other allowance |
Reasonable expenses in excess of £10.50 a week necessarily incurred in travelling to work. |