Vol. 441 No. 3
27 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Health the plans, if any, he has to extend the long term illness list to include motor neurone disease; his views on whether the current list of long term illnesses arbitrarily excludes a significant number of medical conditions which should be recognised; and the plans, if any, he has to implement the proposals in this regard of the Commission on Health Funding.
The long term illness scheme entitles persons who suffer from certain specified illnesses to free drugs and medicines which are prescribed in respect of these particular illnesses. The original aim of the scheme was to ensure that persons with a long term disability or disease which is treatable by drug therapy would not have to suffer expense in order to obtain their required drugs and medicines. The illnesses designated for inclusion in the scheme at its inception were those considered appropriate to this objective at the time.
The needs of people with significant or ongoing medical expenses are now being met by a range of other schemes which provide assistance towards the cost of prescribed drugs and medicines.
Where an individual or a family is subjected to a significant level of ongoing expenditure on medical expenses — general practitioner fees, prescribed drugs etc. — due to a long term medical condition such as motor neurone disease, these expenses may be reckoned in determining eligibility for a medical card. In some cases a medical card may issue to a family member on a personal basis. Eligibility for a medical card is solely a matter for the chief executive of the relevant health board to decide.
Persons who suffer from an ongoing medical condition can avail of the drug cost subsidisation scheme which caters for people who are certified as having a long term medical condition with a regular and ongoing requirement for prescribed drugs and medicines in excess of an amount per month, currently £32. Persons who qualify for inclusion in this scheme will not have to spend more than £32 in any month on prescribed medication.
Under the drugs refund scheme, which covers expenditure by the whole family, any expenditure on prescribed medication above £90 for use in a calendar quarter is refunded by the health board.
